YouTube obtains cancellation of 'youtube.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 'youtube.gr' (Case 25454/18-5-2007, November 6 2007).

YouTube has become increasingly popular in Greece over the past couple of years, especially as a tool to broadcast debates about the Greek elections of September 2007. The Greek registrant registered the domain name 'youtube.gr' on July 4 2006 and used the YOUTUBE trademark on its website. The contents of the website were reportedly of a questionable nature (eg, it contained pornographic material).

YouTube LLC, a US company which started 'youtube.com' and was subsequently bought by Google Inc, filed a petition for the cancellation of the domain name 'youtube.gr'. Among others, YouTube owns the 'youtube.com' and 'youtube.com.gr' domain names.

The National Telecommunications and Post Committee recognized the fame and notoriety of the YOUTUBE mark, focusing its decision on video-sharing online services. The committee ruled in favour of YouTube based on evidentiary material (ie, articles from Greek newspapers and magazines) that demonstrated the use and recognition of the YOUTUBE mark in Greece.

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