TDC wins domain name from transborder competitor

In TDC A/S v Internet Erhverv, a Danish Internet Forum (DIFO) panel has ordered the transfer of the domain name 'tdcdk.dk' to the complainant after finding that the registrant had used it for the sole purpose of redirecting internet traffic to a website offering services that were in competition with those of the complainant.

TDC A/S, a telecommunications company, registered its company name in 1990. In 2000 it obtained trademark registration for TDC as a word mark in Classes 9 and 38 of the Nice Classification, among other classes. In 2002 TDC discovered that Internet Erhverv, a German company based just over the Danish-German border, had registered the domain name 'tdcdk.dk'. Visitors to the disputed domain name were automatically redirected to a website, hosted under the domain name 'dkwebonline.dk', that offered for sale domain names, software and telecommunication-related equipment. After failing to contact Internet Erhverv by email and telephone, TDC filed a complaint with DIFO requesting the transfer of 'tdcdk.dk'.

The panel ruled in TDC's favour. It found that although the disputed domain name was no longer active, Internet Erhverv had clearly used it to create confusion with TDC's trade name and mark. Accordingly, the panel ordered the transfer of the disputed domain name, without TDC having to argue that its mark is well known in Denmark.

Christian Levin Nielsen, Zacco Advocater, Copenhagen