The "Foris" case now wound up by the Naumburg court of appeals

DENIC regards the reasoning of the Naumburg court of appeals as further confirmation of the view it has held that, as the central domain registry, it is, as a general rule, only forced to transfer a disputed domain from its current holder to the claimant once there is a final and absolute court judgement against the current holder. The case concerning the 'foris.de' domain was originally heard by the regional court in Magdeburg, which had ruled that it was DENIC's duty to intervene at an early stage, such as when informed of a possible infringement of rights. In the 'foris.de' case, DENIC was definitely in that position at the very latest at the end of the oral hearing before the court.

Stephan Welzel, the head of DENIC's legal department, sums up the outcome of the appeal: "in hearing the appeal, the court in Naumburg has made it quite clear that it does not share the view of the lower court in Magdeburg. It reasons that DENIC can only be required to check on the legal situation regarding names to the extent that could be reasonably expected of it. In this respect, it is to be equated with other publishers, such as the press. This latest appeal judgement thus follows the same line as the Frankfurt court of appeals in the 'ambiente.de' case, where the conclusions were very similar.”

Turning to the actual case, Stephan Welzel continues: "the 'foris.de' case has actually sorted itself out without needing an appeal judgement. The original domain holder, who had been a co-defendant with DENIC, when the case was first heard before the lower court, has withdrawn their appeal against that judgement. The judgement by Magdeburg regional court against them has thereby become final and absolute. By now at the very latest, the plaintiff, Foris AG, ought to have become the new domain holder."

A photograph of attorney Stephan Welzel is available on request.