Domain name holders are responsible for making sure that the domain name they have registered is lawful. The domain name must not infringe a protected name or trademark owned by another party. You can lose the domain name you have registered if requested by the owner of the infringed name or trademark.
Each fi-domain name is unique. In principle, you can choose your domain name freely and domain names are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. However, a domain name can be unlawful, which means that it can infringe someone else’s protected name or trademark. If your domain name is unlawful, you can lose it. Traficom can remove a domain name from the register at the request of the owner of a protected name or trademark, if at the time of the registration the domain name is:
- based on a protected name or trademark owned by another party, unless the domain name holder can present an acceptable reason for registering the domain name;
- similar to a protected name or trademark owned by another party, and the clear intent of registering the domain name is to benefit from it or to cause damage;
- similar to a protected name or trademark owned by another party because it is deliberately misspelled and the holder has registered multiple domain names.
Before making a removal claim, check that your name or trademark has been registered before the domain name. The protection of registered names and trademarks begins on the date of application, unless the application has been changed. If a domain name has been registered before the name or trademark, the domain name cannot be removed from the register.
Protected names and trademarks include:
- names entered into the Finnish registers of trade, foundations or political parties (External link)
- names entered into the Finnish trademark register (External link)
- names entered into the Finnish register of associations (External link)
- trademarks entered into the trademark register of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (External link)
- names of public body or its bodies (External link)
- names of diplomatic missions of foreign states or their bodies
- established names, secondary marks or trademarks referred to in the Business Names Act or Trademarks Act.
Established name or trademark as a reason for removing an fi-domain name
The removal claim may only be based on an unregistered name or trademark if the trademark is clearly established. The established status must be so obvious that it does not need any clarifications. Traficom is not able to evaluate extensive legal evidence relating to trademarks.
Traficom recommends the parties to take their disputes related to established names or trademarks first to the Market Court, and only after that, if necessary, to request the fi-domain name to be removed from the register based on a final prohibition decision issued by the court.