Google obtains cancellation of 'igoogle.gr'

The National Telecommunications and Post Committee, the authority responsible for the supervision of the administration of domain names in Greece, has ordered the cancellation of the domain name 'igoogle.gr' (Case 43100/06-08-2008, March 3 2009).

Edmunds Gaidis, an individual residing in Latvia, registered the domain name 'igoogle.gr'.

Google Inc filed a petition for the cancellation of the domain name based on:

its earlier registered Community trademark IGOOGLE; and
its iGoogle web tool, which allows internet users to gather links to their favourite web pages on Google's home page.

Google requested that the domain name be removed from the register on the grounds that the application for registration had been filed in bad faith.

To demonstrate bad faith, Google submitted:

evidence that the IGOOGLE mark and iGoogle web tool were well known; and
case law of the World Intellectual Property Organization involving the same registrant (eg, see Google Inc v Gaidis, in which the panel ordered the transfer of the domain name 'igoogle.ro' to Google).

The National Telecommunications and Post Committee held that Google had prior rights in 'igoogle.gr' and concluded that the domain name had been registered in bad faith. The committee thus granted Google's petition for cancellation.

Eleni Lappa, Dr Helen Papaconstantinou John V Filias & Associates, Athens

Google obtains cancellation of 'igoogle.gr'

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