Kraft loses domain dispute for Oreo.nl.
Kraft Foods Global Brands has lost a dispute over the domain name Oreo.nl. .Nl is the country code domain name for the Netherlands.
A single arbitrator panel ruled that Kraft had not proven that the domain’s registrant did not have rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. The owner of the domain had used it for e-mail earlier this decade.
The panel also debated the merits of claims to trademark rights on the term ‘oreo’ in the Netherlands when the responded registered and used the domain. Although Oreos are a popular snack food around the world, apparently they are only being widely introduced into the Netherlands now.
This decision could be used as a precedent in future cases as to the validity of using a domain for e-mail constituting use of the domain. Panels are inconsistent on this matter.
View the decision here, and the English translated version here.
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