In a recent case, the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission considered a complaint filed by the owner of the Community trade mark Wind for services in class 38, which includes telecommunications, against the owner of the Greek domain name www.wind.gr.
His defence was based on the fact that he is a windsurfer and the web page under the domain name served informative purposes relating to the weather forecast for sea sports and windsurfing. He also argued that the domain name was registered in his name before Wind becoming known in Greece for telecommunications.
The defence was overruled. In particular, it was held that the domain name holder's specific hobby (windsurfing) was not decisive, as it had been proved that he offered his web page for advertising purposes to the claimant's competitors. And since the claimant owns a Community trade mark, it suffices that the mark became famous before the registration of the domain name anywhere in the EU. Indeed, the claimant showed that the mark gained reputation in Italy before the domain name's registration in Greece.
The decision is well established. It encourages trade mark owners to pursue an alternative dispute resolution procedure in Greece for domain name disputes, as it safeguards justice considerably faster than ordinary judicial proceedings.
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| Manolis Metaxakis
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Patrinos & Kilimiris
7, Hatziyianni Mexi Str.
GR-11528 Athens, Greece
Tel: +30210 7222906, 7222050
Fax: +30210 7222889
info@patrinoskilimiris.com
www.patrinoskilimiris.com