Global IP Matrix - Issue 3 - Jan 2019

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Firstly, it is linked with recently adopted rules
for the processing of personal data. Following
these rules, any personal data belonging to the
domain name holder, who is also a natural
person will be removed from the public
register and the Registry will not disclose this
information, otherwise, as only in accordance
with the Court request. Thus, before initiating
any infringement cases you have to conduct
additional action, namely – you have to file
a separate request with the Court asking to
collect the details of the domain name holder.
Secondly, the time and expenses may increase
if the holder of the domain is not from Latvia.
In accordance with the Policies the holder of
the domain name under top level domain .lv
may be:
A commercial entity registered in Latvia
from the moment it is registered in the
Enterprise Registry of the Republic of
Latvia;
A state or local government authority
from the moment it is established;
A foundation, an agency, a union or other
entity established in accordance with the
normative acts of the Republic of Latvia
from the moment it is established;
A natural person, who has reached 18
years of age;
A commercial entity or organization
registered outside the Republic of Latvia
from the moment it is registered.
Thus, there is no limitation that the holder
of the domain name may be a person
from a foreign country.
requirements the Judge has the right to
reject the case, allowing time to consider
more evidence.
The recent case law discovers additional
challenges in disputes about the domain
names and they mostly are related to the
questions about preliminary injunctions.
Preliminary
Injunctions
Firstly, it is necessary to carefully
evaluate whether a requested injunction
is proportionate. Recently, preliminary
injunctions were not granted when the
Plaintiff asked for the locking of the domain
name’s technical data. As blocking access to
the technical data in the Registry database
would result that all services related to a
domain name, such as e-mails, website, and
others would fail to function. Such an outcome
is considered as unproportioned as the merit
of the claim is not reviewed at that moment.
In the meantime, a request to ban the rights to
transfer the domain name is considered as a
reasonable request for preliminary injunctions.
Secondly, the Court raises questions
concerning, whether only the registration
of a certain domain name itself creates an
infringement of trademark rights, as it is not
considered as commercial use of this sign.
In Court, the opinion Plaintiff must prove
that this domain name is used in respect for
identical and/or similar goods and/or services
as a registered trademark or if the Defendant
is performing other commercial activities such
as selling domains etc.
Thirdly, the Register raises questions
concerning, how one proceeds in situations
where the Defendant has not extended an
agreement with the Register for the domain
name in dispute when the dispute (in question)
before the Civil Court is still ongoing.
In accordance with Policy domain names
.lv might be registered only for one year, but
the review of a civil case in Latvia may length
much longer time. Currently, the Court has not
provided any explanation about this question
and it is left on the shoulders of the Plaintiff
to follow the actual situation about the domain
name of his/her interest.
Last but not least, questions are always linked
with the law applicable in the disputes about
country code top-level domains in Latvia (.lv).
As we have no national regulation about these
questions, Plaintiffs and Courts tend to apply
Commission Regulation (EC) No 874/2004 of
28 April 2004, laying down public policy rules
concerning the implementation and functions
of the .eu Top Level Domain and the principles
governing registration, however this is still
quite a disputable practice which leaves a lot of
unanswered questions.
In conclusion
It is noticeable that conflicts between
trademark holders and domain name holders
are becoming more common, also in Latvia.
Currently, the procedure for resolving these
conflicts are expensive and cumbersome,
therefore there is an actual need to adopt more
specific policy rules concerning functions of
the .lv Top Level Domain.
1- The policy for acquisition of the right to use
domain names under the top level domain
.lv, which cover domain name registration
and usage under top level domain .lv and its
generic second level domains (subdomains)
and is an integral part of the agreement.
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In such cases, following the civil law
provision, the Plaintiff will be obliged to
provide a translation of the claim into the
language which is understandable for the
Defendant and in many cases this language
will not be the English language, but the
official language of the country of which
this person is registered or has an address.
Moreover, following international rules
this claim will then be forwarded to the
Defendant via the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Latvia. Therefore, as you can see
this process and such cases take a much
longer time in obtaining a judgement.
Thirdly, you have to take into consideration
that all documents submitted with
the Civil Court in Latvia must
be in an official language or
accompanied by a translation
into the official language of
Latvia, i.e. Latvian language.
Although this is a quite a
formal requirement it should
not be underestimated as in
some cases it creates a lot of
additional expenses. If you
do not comply with these
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