Domain Name Dispute

Three recent decisions involving domain names and trademarks should be noted.

On 24 April 1997 the Appeal Court of Amsterdam ruled that the domain name ouders.nl does not infringe the trademark Ouders van Nu, even though the latter has acquired (the equivalent of) secondary meaning. The Court did not address the question whether use of a domain name for a website is use of a sign (or trade name) for the goods or services on that website.

On 15 May 1997 the President of the District Court Amsterdam decided that IMG Holland N.V., by using the domain name labouchere.com, had infringed the trademark rights of La Bouchere N.V., a Dutch merchant bank. Similar decisions were given with respect to names of other banks used as part of domain names registered by IMG Holland N.V. The President is of the opinion that the use of the domain names by IMG for websites with information on the products of the banks involved infringes the trademark and trade name rights of those