In the digital era, a domain name is no longer simply an internet address. It is a valuable asset directly associated with a brand and trade mark — and as such it attracts the attention of consumers and unscrupulous competitors alike. This is particularly relevant for Ukrainian businesses actively expanding into international markets.
A recent case decided by the Czech Arbitration Court (CAC) under the ADR.euprocedure illustrates precisely why intellectual property protection matters.
The Case: When a Partner Uses Your Domain Name Against You
The claimant — a manufacturer operating under a registered trade mark— encountered bad-faith conduct by a former distributor.
Following the termination of the distribution agreement at the end of 2023, the claimant discovered that the former partner had registered a .eu a domain name that reproduced its trade mark.
Although the respondent claimed to have opened an online shop selling the claimant's products "with the latter's consent," the arbitral panel found otherwise: the distribution agreement expressly prohibited the registration of domain names incorporating the claimant's trade marks without written authorisation. No such authorisation had been given.
After the business relationship ended, the respondent began redirecting traffic from the domain to its own website, where it sold products from various manufacturers. This is a textbook example of bad-faith use — one that misleads consumers and infringes the rights of the trade mark proprietor.
Three Key Lessons for Business
- Regular monitoring. Registering a trade markis only the first step — its use online must also be tracked. Monitoring domain names allows infringements to be detected promptly and financial or reputational damage to be prevented before it escalates.
- Clear contractual terms. All agreements with partners, distributors, and franchisees should contain explicit provisions governing the use of your trade mark in domain names and email addresses. In this case, it was the correctly drafted contract that proved decisive in the claimant's favour.
- Legal mechanisms. Cases of bad-faith domain registration can be addressed through instruments such as the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) and the the ADR.euprocedure. In this instance, those mechanisms resulted in the domain name being transferred to the trade mark proprietor.
Conclusion: Comprehensive Brand Protection in the Digital Age
In today's business environment, where the boundary between offline and online continues to blur, trade mark protection must be comprehensive. Neglecting the digital space can lead to significant losses — as this case clearly demonstrates.
A domain name is an integral part of your brand, and protecting it should be a priority for every business.
