back to article .eu is a Euro domain, for Euro people - top legal bod

Only businesses established in the EU can register trademarks as web addresses in the '.eu' domain, a legal advisor to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said. Businesses based outside of the EU cannot contract with other companies based within the trading bloc to register trade mark domain names at the .eu domain on …

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  1. Tom 7

    I'm sure the US will regard this as a trading barrier

    and use it as an excuse to ban something that only Europe currently makes.

    1. LarsG

      will this mean

      Only .com will be allowed if you trade from the US or .org if you have an organisation or .net if you are a fisherman.

      A load of .balls if you ask me.

      1. David 39
        Facepalm

        Re: will this mean

        NO!

        the tld .COM is for companies. The US has it's own tld .US

        1. compton
          Headmaster

          Re: the tld .COM is for companies

          A common misconception, however .COM long predates the commercialisation of the internet, and does not stand for 'company'.

          It stands for 'computer', and indicated that a particular net address belonged to a computer that was directly accessible via the net, as opposed to a router serving as a gateway to a LAN.

          1. Dave 8
            Stop

            Re: the tld .COM is for companies

            As per http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc920

            COM = Commercial, any commercial related domains meeting the second level requirements..

      2. Charlie Clark Silver badge
        Thumb Down

        Re: will this mean

        You should check up on your internet history before spouting such shit. DARPA paid for the development of the internet and, as such, got first dibs on the DNS when it was developed: .edu, .gov, .mil, and .com were reserved for US use when they were developed with everyone else supposed to use their country's TLD. Only ICANN and its precursors saw the financial advantage in selling to everyone on a first come, first served basis and the .us domain was effectively "surplus to requirements". Personally, I reckon that ".usa" would get the Yanks back on track.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: will this mean

          You sound sound so angry.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          .usa would be great

          so that here in Europe we could avoid all the crap from there. Then we would only have to put up with our own sh*t and get more relevant search results.

          I say go for it.

        3. Peter Galbavy
          FAIL

          Re: will this mean

          Nope. Perhaps *you* should read up a little more on the history of domains before trying to sound so authoritative and angry. I am not going join in since I am not actually that angry, but I will let readers go and do their own research.

        4. the spectacularly refined chap

          Re: will this mean

          Do you want to point out precisely where RFC920 (which establishes the TLDs) reserves them for US-only use?

    2. g e

      Re: I'm sure the US will regard this as a trading barrier

      Given that the US will withdraw your .com on a whim I'd never buy one these days - .co.uk for me

      I'm sure the .EU ruling is regarded as an act of terrorism or something by the pointyheads in the Pennergarrrrn. Fuck 'em.

    3. TeeCee Gold badge
      Mushroom

      Re: I'm sure the US will regard this as a trading barrier

      They can feel free. Nothing they do could be as obstructive as the barriers Europe currently has in place to getting anything made in Europe in the first place.

      Have a look at the "why it's made in China" explanation for the Raspberry Pi.

  2. Steve Graham

    I am not a lawyer...

    ... but this looks to me as though a company with a legitimate trademark registered in the EU is being banned from using it in a domain name in the EU in favour of a company not having registered said trademark.

    Whether the latter comany is acting in good faith or attempting to get parasite business from the trademark reference is not clear from the report.

    1. Rob 5

      Re: I am not a lawyer...

      OTOH, many trademarks are held by different companies in different territories - look up some of the old board games, for example. In such cases, you'd clearly want the EU based holder to get the domain.

      I agree that this appears a clumsy way of going about that, however.

    2. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

      Re: I am not a lawyer...

      "this looks to me as though a company with a legitimate trademark registered in the EU is being banned from using it in a domain name in the EU in favour of a company not having registered said trademark."

      I think we're being told that the judge decided that's what the US company and their EU front wanted you to think, but that in fact they -aren't- entitled to trademark protection.

      A lot of the time in these stories, you can accidentally read too much of one side of the argument.

  3. tkioz
    Thumb Down

    Sounds Like...

    Sounds like the old .au domains before they went to shit. They were tightly regulated, if you wanted a .com.au domain you needed to have a registered business with that name (or similar), etc.

    I always thought that was a good practice. Pity it's too late to impose order on domains, I personally would have liked .com to have been for international companies only, and every other nation having their own suffixes.

    15 years too late though.

    1. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: Sounds Like...

      Every nation does have its own suffix. That includes .us , which you may not have noticed because very few people use it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Sounds Like...

        Yes, in the uk, gov.uk, in france, gouv.fr, in the usa, .gov, should be .gov.us

        Fantasies of world domination me thinks.

        1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

          Re: Sounds Like...

          Should be, but isn't it's just plain ".gov". I do hope they can adopt ".usa" to make up for this. ".us" is the TLD but "USA" is what the citizens are used to shouting.

        2. compton

          Re: should be .gov.us

          That's as maybe, however the .gov TLD was created for government bodies by the US. No other governments at that time had any interest in a presence on what was almost entirely a US internet.

          It's the same kind of historical reason why the UK is the only country which does not print its country name on postage stamps.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sounds Like...

      If you want a tightly regulated domain for businesses look at .ltd.uk and .plc.uk. You need a registered limited company or PLC to get one, and the domain name has to match your business name.

      Nobody ever uses them though.

  4. Stuart Elliott

    A Euro Domain for Euro People

    Are you local ?

    1. cosymart
      Joke

      Re: A Euro Domain for Euro People

      No, but I am loco.

    2. SleepyJohn
      Alert

      Re: A Euro Domain for Euro People

      I suggest we give meat-pies.eu a miss.

    3. Big-nosed Pengie

      Re: A Euro Domain for Euro People

      There's nothing for you here.

  5. Keep Refrigerated
    WTF?

    So what's to stop...

    Some big US business to purchase a new .europe TLD and simply undercut prices and undermine the registration of .eu entirely?

    This whole business of money and litigation over domain names is ridiculous in the face of it. I can type stuff.com in a browser, I can type stuff.eu in a browser, I don't need any kind of visa or documentation before I can access the website.

    Any website that has legitimate, interesting content or specialist product, is going to get the traffic anyway. Having a .eu or a .us or .anything is not going to drive you more traffic based on that - it will be based on links, which comes from word-of-mouth, instore advertising or viral. The TLD is completely irrelevant.

    In any case, anyone who does attempt to find their special interest thing online who types in a .com address and doesn't find it, will simply try .co.uk, then .eu. With apologies for invoking a grating term, Cyberprotectionism is not really something that works in practice.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So what's to stop...

      Because Europe is not the same as eu?

      Clue, Suisse?

    2. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: So what's to stop...

      "Some big US business to purchase a new .europe TLD and simply undercut prices and undermine the registration of .eu entirely?"

      Because if they don't impose a similar restriction underneath .europe, the domain won't offer the same guarantee to end-users (ie, that the owner is completely subject to EU laws, rather than just being after a fast buck wherever theyu can get it).

      The restriction is not a bug, it's a feature. If you don't want that feature, no-one is forcing you to have it.

  6. Nights_are_Long
    Alert

    It's already happend.

    Look lets be honest, .com an .net are treated by the US are there TLD's, and with this massive fragmentation of the internet thats going to happen a .eu TLD open to EU owned companies makes sense.

    Hell I am considering moving my TLD's from .com to .co.uk and .eu one is about 8 years old and is a simple blog with about 3 regulars, one is a site I take care of for a friend who is a photographer (both are .com's) two are .net one is a joke site I own intended as a joke for a few friends who are in on the joke and the other is another joke for work about the weekly kebab night I registered last year, the last one is a .co.uk I got for a couple of quid that's redirected to a .com.

    Not a vastly huge domain collection but I am personally worried that I may post something that will annoy some one and my non commercial content an domain might be ceased by the US government (also don't help I am hosting with a US based company on a eu server). As such I am considering the TLD move as I dont want to piss off the 3rd most temperamental government in the world.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Headmaster

      Re: It's already happend.

      "...I am personally worried that I may post something that will annoy some one..."

      Congratulations –you just did!

      – happened

      – apostrophe [several]

      – and [several]

      – their

      – comma [ several]

      – full stop [several]

      – someone

      – seized

      – doesn't

  7. This post has been deleted by its author

  8. TeeCee Gold badge
    Facepalm

    Priorities.

    Anyone know how much in total this bit of "git orf moi laaand" cost? Presumably it went through a variety of registration / appeals processes, national courts and such before getting to the ECJ.

    Nice to see that they have their priorities right, lengthily debating the nit-pickery of who gets to have ".eu" on a web address, while the EU itself picks up speed on its continuing journey to hell in a bucket.

    I can't help feeling that the bloke who coordinated the movement of deckchairs on the Titanic had a more productive job.

  9. Anonymous Coward 101
    FAIL

    Irrelevant...

    The ECJ might as well have ruled on how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Nobody gives a shit about the .eu top level domain.

    1. Yes Me Silver badge
      Holmes

      Not quite irrelevant...

      Well, the phishers at thongtin seem very happy with this official looking TLD. (I don't advise browsing thongtin dot eu since it is undoubtedly a malware haven, judging by today's 'Google Email Verification' spam.)

  10. Lghost

    .co.uk

    .co.uk

    Considering that the world and it's dog are able to get .co.uk domains, ( and very many scammy, rip off people do from vary many countries ) without any oversight whatsoever..Those pontificating about how the .eu or any other register is being "difficult" should first ensure that Mr Pot isn't name calling in the direction of Mr Kettle..

    Those who can't get a dot com, dot net or dot org because the domain name they want is already taken go for dot co dot uk..and can get it with no problem at all even if they register from Shanghai or Argentina...co.uk is the scammers dream..sure it publishes your name and address, but more than half of them are not in the UK , nor are they UK companies..

    I have multiple UK limited companies, and only ever register the .co.uk versions to prevent cyber squatting, ( I never use them, the .co.uk may have some reputable domains on it, but is also a refuge of thieves and scoundrels, "passing off"..and I'd rather not be associated with it ) it is as wide open to abuse as .com ..and as most of the public both within and outside the UK think there is a some sort of "policing" of it , or some requirement to be UK based and thus "traceable" if they have a problem, the potential for abuse is greater than that of .com..

    It should be restricted to only UK citizens or businesses..until it is , it is at best a joke, and at worst a "Union Jack" painted rock for non UK based scammers to hide under..

    I own ( strictly speaking one leases them ) at present just under 200 domain names ( used to own very many more ), less than 10 of them are .co.uk..

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