Legal Information

Legal Information Relating to .de

Compared with the total number of registered .de domains, the number of disputes is extremely low - probably little more than one domain in a thousand is affected by some sort of disagreement. However, just like the real world, the Internet is not a place which is free from any conflicts, nor is it an area outside the reach of law. Whenever there are disputes relating to domain names, these are settled by applying the same laws and rules as are used for name disputes elsewhere.
 
It is not DENIC's job to become involved in such disputes. DENIC does not check the contents and/or legality of domains; responsibility for any infringement of rights resides entirely with the holder of the domain concerned. This view of the legal situation was also confirmed by Germany's Federal Supreme Court in May 2001 in its judgement in the 'ambiente.de' case. Only when the dispute over a domain has been brought to a definitive conclusion, especially if there is a final court decision on the substance of the case against the domain holder, will DENIC intervene - if this is still necessary.

DENIC has, however, created a measure that can be of assistance to any claimant who feels that their rights have been infringed by a domain: this is the so-called DISPUTE entry. If you can submit an appropriate evidence of your rights, you can use the form provided by us to request information about the domain holder and thus find out who is to be contacted in case of an infringement of rights.

Legal Information Relating to ENUM

As opposed to .de domains, ENUM domains cannot give rise to conflicts about names, since registration is linked to the corresponding telephone number. In the ENUM context, questions are thus more likely to arise in relation to whether the holder of the ENUM domain and the legitimate holder of the telephone number are indeed identical. To find out whether the holder of an ENUM domain is actually the legitimate holder of the corresponding telephone number, DENIC's so-called ENUM COMPLAINT procedure may be used.

Court Judgements Dealing with DENIC's Role