common wordTM

**tassos** · 01-27-2003, 02:09 PM

i regged a name in .gr (greece) that is common word in greek,lets say like pain.gr
but there is a huge company like adidas for ex that has the same name
what sould i do? i have it since 1999 and they haven t come to me yet
tha company is veeeery huge

**tassos** · 01-27-2003, 02:23 PM

for sure i ll need a good lawyer for this cause the company is veeeeery big and known,
the page from the domain says under constraction

**HOWARD** · 01-28-2003, 08:20 AM

have a good business use for the domain (LIKE MAYBE DEVELOP A WEB SITE) and you shouldn't have a problem defending it, particularly if it is a completely different business than the VERY BIG COMPANY

**Ciqala** · 01-28-2003, 08:35 AM

is it the name in your sig?

we have allsports in the uk and they are a big sportswear chain on the same level as foot locker. (in case that helps comparison).

**tassos** · 01-29-2003, 08:03 AM

the name of the company is similar to coca cola, lets say p..i

**Banned: timechange.com** · 01-29-2003, 07:35 PM

Kai kali sas oreksi!

*burp*

**flipsix** · 02-01-2003, 08:31 AM

You should be ok on the most part, all sports could be taken as a generic, also they would needed to have filed the trademark in greece prior to 1999 (nowadays they can use the madrid treaty, but its too late to affect you).

Relax and take it easy, to protect yourself you might want to put up a small one page with links to websites about sports (thus justifying the use of "all sports")

Hope this helps,

Alicia

**tassos** · 02-01-2003, 11:14 PM

.....its not allsports...its PEPSI.GR ..i said huuuuuge

**Banned: timechange.com** · 02-02-2003, 10:02 PM

I'm just concerned about the precendent of Amazon.gr

**mastmnds** · 02-03-2003, 12:51 AM

tassos pepsi.gr is an easy case for pepsi sorry ur screwed.

**Aloof** · 02-03-2003, 11:25 AM

Is pepsi a generic word in the Greek language ?

If so, what does it mean Tassos ?

**jberryhill** · 02-03-2003, 03:09 PM

It means "I need a lame excuse for registering this domain name".

**Aloof** · 02-04-2003, 11:07 AM

I have a feeling your "Lame Excuse" thoery may be a trifle hasty Mr. Berryhill, could it be that you are thinking local and not acting Global ?

I'm not sure that the UDRP is applied to the .gr ccTLD

Check this, from

https://grweb.ics.forth.gr/english/index.html

==============================================
18, I have trademarks for my companys whole product line which are therefore protected and cannot be registered by a third party as a domain name, right?

Wrong. There is no legal precedent which binds domain name registrations to registered Trademarks, therefore the only rule that applies is first come - first served. As a result, anyone can apply for a domain name that is available, as long as they state that they are not infringing on another parties rights. If a registration does infringe on a third parties rights, the Hellenic legal system is fully capable of handling the matter.
==============================================

Respectfully John, try not to look at the rest of the world from an Americo-centric perspective

My point is, if Pepsi means "DOG" (Tassos says pain) in the Greek language then Tassos would have legitmate rights to use it for his dogs homepage

If pepsico wanted pepsi.gr I'm darned sure they would have "First come-first served" it long ago

like their business rivals did

http://www.cocacola.gr

http://www.coke.gr/

AND

Not left the likes of http://www.pepsicola.gr/ un-registered

If Pepsi does mean PAIN in Greek then I can see why they would need a specific communications and branding strategy in that country

**jberryhill** · 02-04-2003, 05:47 PM

"Respectfully John, try not to look at the rest of the world from an Americo-centric perspective"

First off, I never said the UDRP applied to .gr domain names.

I am quite certain that Greece has its own trademark laws, and it is unlikely that they are wildly out of kilter with the rest of the European Community. Please read the policy you posted carefully - do you see where it says that you can end up in a Greek court over a trademark violation?

Now, "pepsi" means digestion in Greek, and we have the English word pepsin for a digestive enzyme, derived from that Greek root. We also have the word dyspepsia for indigestion. The original formula for Pepsi developed by pharmacist Caleb Bradham included pepsin (commonly used in laxative formulations) and cola nuts.

So, since 1999, Tassos has had this domain name, but suddenly he is more inspired to ask about the beverage company than to explain what he was thinking when he registered the domain name. Do I have that right so far?

"Coke" is a common English word, too. But if you sat around with coke.com for four years doing nothing, but wondering what would happen if the soda company became upset, and having no particular interest in solid carbon fuels, then others would surely question your motivation - even in a Greek court.

**Aloof** · 02-04-2003, 06:33 PM

So your point is....

**Aloof** · 02-04-2003, 06:37 PM

http://www.cola.com

**tassos** · 02-04-2003, 07:31 PM

the site is almost ready as a portal for problems of pepsi/digestion with the help of a pharmaceuttical company and greek doctors. 40% of all population have problem with digestion . i have done a cd-rom about this 5 years ago that went to many doctors/ pesico can still use pepsicola.gr..its free

**jberryhill** · 02-05-2003, 03:49 PM

"the site is almost ready as a portal for problems of pepsi/digestion with the help of a pharmaceuttical company and greek doctors. 40% of all population have problem with digestion . i have done a cd-rom about this 5 years ago that went to many doctors"

Then your registration makes perfect sense. You should consult with someone who knows something about Greek law, in order to be sure.

**Aloof** · 02-06-2003, 05:33 PM

Beautiful !

I love a good back pedler

Hats off to you John !

**jberryhill** · 02-07-2003, 11:52 AM

Aloof, responding to facts which were not originally presented is not back-pedaling. It is surprising the number of posts here which are of the form "I registered X as a domain name, do I have a problem?" where X is a trademark. Typically, and as here, the original post gives no indication at all of *why* this person registered the domain name - and that is the most important question in all of the issues of this type.

So, sure, if someone registers "Pepsi", gives zero explanation of why they registered, and asks if they have a problem, the answer is, and would remain, "yes". Doing nothing in four years of domain registration is unhelpful, even if they do have some story which they didn't bother to mention at the outset. The fact that these stories somehow never seem to make it into the original question might cause someone to wonder just who it is that is doing the "back pedaling". Doncha think?

That said, there are some European courts who make the UDRP look like a bonanza for cybersquatters. The German courts in particular don't really care what your reason for registering a domain name was.... ask Wolfgang Dieter Ross about his registration of "WDR" - his own initials - and how much the TM owner was able to collect in damages anyway.