Regional Court Frankfurt am Main, 04 November 2010, Ref.: 2-03 O 192/10
Internet domains (Internet addresses) are registered in Germany via DE-NIC e.G. or via its members. Most German Internet Service Providers (ISPs) belong to DE-NIC e.G..
When registering a new domain, the so-called Admin-C ("administrative contact") must be named in addition to the holder. This person acts as the authorised representative of the holder and is therefore authorised and obliged to make binding decisions on all matters relating to the domain. The Admin-C is therefore the "owner" of the Internet domain and is responsible for setting up subdomains and complying with the naming rights. He must be a natural person who has his general place of jurisdiction (§§ 13, 17 ZPO) in Germany. The domain holder himself can also be registered as Admin-C as long as he is a natural person. If the domain holder is not domiciled in Germany, the Admin-C domiciled in Germany is also his authorised representative for service of process (see § 184 ZPO, § 132 StPO, § 56 Paragraph 3 VwGO, § 15 VwVfG).
The Admin-C is exposed to various liability risks, which can be roughly divided into the following areas: Liability for "mistyped domains", liability for trademark infringements through domain names, liability for "domain parking", liability for website content.
The liability of the Admin-C for name and trademark infringements through the domain name is judged differently by the courts. Some courts see the actions of the Admin-C as their own contribution to name and trademark infringements through the domain name. (cf. e.g. decision of the OLG Stuttgart of 01.09.2003 (Ref.: 2 W 27/03) or judgement of the OLG Munich of 20.01.2000 (Ref.: 29 U 5819/99). Other courts see the Admin-C merely as an authorised representative of the domain owner and therefore deny liability (see judgement of the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz of 25.01.2002 (Ref.: 8 U 1842/00).
Another case of trademark infringement by an Admin-C was decided by the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main on 4 November 2010.
Facts of the Case The defendant in the above-mentioned judgement of the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main was registered with DENIC as the Admin-C of a large company based abroad. The registered domain consisted of a protected sign that was registered as a DE domain with the annex "online". The plaintiff argued that the unlawfulness of the domain was obvious and could therefore have been recognised by the Admin-C without further ado.
Frankfurt Regional Court: The Frankfurt Regional Court followed the plaintiff's view and recognised the principles of the "ambiente.de" decision of the BGH (judgement of the BGH of 17 May 2001 - I ZR 251/99) as relevant, according to which liability is assumed if the infringement is obvious and readily identifiable. In this case, too, the trade mark infringement was obvious and the Admin-C could be held liable for the warning costs asserted.
Source: District Court of Frankfurt am Main
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