After Shell and Krupp, 1. FC Köln also sued for the use of an internet domain. FC Köln saw itself as the only “FC” and therefore also claimed the use of the internet domain fc.de.
Cologne Regional Court awards the domain to 1. FC Köln in the first instance
The Regional Court of Cologne confirmed this view of 1. FC Köln in its ruling of August 9, 2016 (Ref.: 6 U 149/16) and upheld the action for injunctive relief and deletion of the domain. In the subsequent appeal proceedings before the Higher Regional Court of Cologne, the parties reached an amicable settlement and agreed to sell the domain.
Nevertheless, the decision of the Cologne Regional Court and the comments made during the main hearing at the Higher Regional Court are extremely interesting. This is because the decision of other courts – not based in Cologne – would probably have been different.
In the Rhineland, “FC” is synonymous with 1 FC Köln
In the Rhineland, everyone knows the name “FC” (“eff zeh“). Whether popular or not, everyone knows that the two letters refer to the Bundesliga soccer team 1. FC Köln.
In the opinion of the Regional Court, the use of the domain by another infringes FC Köln’s right to a name, Section 12 BGB. It is undisputed that not only the soccer club itself uses this abbreviation, but also various media and even opposing soccer clubs. Thus, there is only one true FC, namely 1. FC Köln.
FC Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg, for example, also rejected the purchase of the domain, as every soccer fan would associate the domain fc.de with FC Köln.
OLG: No nationwide use of the synonym “FC”
However, the judges at Cologne Higher Regional Court took a different view in the appeal proceedings. The domain could be accessed from anywhere in the world. However, FC Köln is not associated with the abbreviation “FC” everywhere in the world.
Contrary to the opinion of the Regional Court, the Higher Regional Court of Cologne could not accept the argument of the “long-lasting and nationwide use“ofthe abbreviation as a synonym for the Cologne soccer club.
“Even at the risk of making ourselves unpopular with FC fans […]” – “We doubt that people in Upper Bavaria or Saxony immediately think of Cologne when using FC“. These were the words of Judge Nolte of the Cologne Higher Regional Court.
In fact, the abbreviation can be understood differently from region to region. It not only stands for various soccer clubs, but also for “fencing clubs”, for example.
1. FC Köln is now registered as the holder of the domain
The parties therefore took this as an opportunity to reach a settlement during the appeal proceedings. According to reports in the “Kölnische Rundschau“, 1. FC Köln paid the owner of the domain around 20,000 euros of the 50,000 euros initially demanded. According to the German Network Information Center (DENIC), 1. FC Köln is now finally the owner of the domain www.fc.de.