The Paris Court of Appeals rules that the registration of a domain name may amount to a violation of a trademark coexistence agreement (Eurostar / SNCB / SNCF / Eurostar Diamond Traders)

When a trademark coexistence agreement is silent on the question of the electronic use of the sign at stake, can one of the parties register a domain name which includes this sign ? This question was raised for the first time before the Paris Court of Appeals, in a dispute over the name <eurostar.eu> , involving the companies that operate the famous European speed train on one side, and the jeweller Eurostar Diamond Traders on the other side. The Court ruled that the railway companies only were entitled to register this name. Facts Eurostar U.K. Limited, the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Belge (SNCB), and the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF), three railway companies which operate together the speed train Eurostar, hold several EUROSTAR trademarks