Region: Belgium

In <i>Bio-Fyt Pharma v Pharma Nord</i>, the Brussels Commercial Court has ruled that the defendant's use of the descriptive name Bio-Magnesium for its food supplements infringed the plaintiff's BIO-MAGNUM mark for similar goods. The court held that BIO-MAGNUM is sufficiently distinctive to warrant protection.

14 October 2003

DNS Belgium has adopted a new domain name transfer policy for names registered in the country-code top-level domain. Pursuant to this policy, once an application is made through a registered agent, DNS Belgium will only require that the transferor and transferee confirm that they agree to the transfer.

05 March 2003

In <i>Napster Inc v TheInternetOne CV</i>, panellist Yves Van Couter at the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation has ordered the transfer of 'napster.be' to Napster. Couter held that the domain name was identical to the complainant's famous NAPSTER mark and had been registered in bad faith.

27 February 2003

Applying Belgian law on geographical indications and fair trade practices, the Nivelles Commercial Court has ordered beer producer SA de Landtsheer to cease using the word 'champagne' in relation to its new product, as well as the slogan 'the beer world's answer to Veuve Cliquot'.

04 February 2003

DNS.BE, the nonprofit organization responsible for registering country-code top-level domains in Belgium, has announced that it will allow the transfer of '.be' names beginning in the third quarter of this year.

28 June 2002

DNS Belgium, the non-profit organization responsible for registering '.be' country-code top-level domains has drafted a Code of Conduct to govern the relationships between its registrar agents and their customers.

16 January 2002