Domain name extensions
Hi Everyone,
Last week I found myself in a criminal hearing in Switzerland because I purchased the domain name gruyere.immo
Gruyère is a district in Switzerland and Immo is a domain name extension for the property sector, an abbreviation used in about 40 countries (immobilien/immobilier etc etc).
The company taking me to court was called Gruyere-Immo SA (ltd) which has been established for about 10 years as an estate agency.
Being an English guy in Switzerland I didnt know firstly what immo meant, i had to google it, when I found out it was perfect for what I wanted to do, customise a bit of software for the property sector in an area (Gruyère).
The hearing was horrible, the prosecutor was obviously matey with the company as their lawyer was a director of the agency.
I defended myself but I was only allowed 1 word answers. I refused to sign anything and now await news.
Has anyone ever had such an experience and what happened?
Can someone claim a domain extension, just like .com?
i mean, that surely would cause havoc, imagine SwissCom (the largest telecoms company) saying to Swiss.com the Swiss national airlines, sorry you cant use that name....
Is this bizarre or is it just Swiss?
Any help would be appreciated
Warm regards
bainzy
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