The Hamburg Court of Appeal ruled that the domain name mitwohnzentrale.de (housing-cooperative.de) could not be used “without a distinctive addition”, as reported by Berlin-based law firm Bardehle Pagenberg Dost Altenburg Geissler Isenbruck.
The court said that use by a company in the accommodation business of such a general term with the German second level domain hindered competitors since web users could be expected to guess addresses based on general terms. The judgment has been appealed to the country’s Federal Supreme Court, which has not yet issued its decision.
There is a growing body of law in Germany on generic .de domain names. Bardehle also reports that a Munich District Court has already distinguished the appeal court's ruling in a dispute over the use of a domain name that translates to car-rental.de (autovermietung.de), on the basis that other generic terms can be used for car rental services and that visitors to the site are likely aware of other car rental companies and would be expected to continue their search on the internet.
In another case, the same district court blocked the use of lawyers.de (rechtsanwaelte.de), saying the domain name’s registration and use constituted unfair competition because it used a generic word to unfairly exclude all competitors in the profession. This decision is also subject to appeal.
For more information on German domain name decisions, see the firm's web site, www.bardehle.de (in English and German).