Domain name dispute .nl: getting your brand back

Published on 13 November 2026

In a .nl domain name dispute, you can recover a domain matching your brand through the procedure of SIDN, the .nl registry, decided at WIPO. You must show a trade mark protected under Dutch law, no legitimate interest of the holder, and bad faith registration or use. As a Dutch IP lawyer at MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam, I advise foreign brand owners and act for them in Dutch courts.

This article, part of our pages on intellectual property law in the Netherlands, is for companies abroad whose brand a cybersquatter, competitor or former distributor has registered as a .nl domain, or a Dutch company as a .eu or .com domain.

Which route fits your domain name dispute?

The extension decides the first route: a .nl name goes to SIDN at WIPO, a .com name to the UDRP and a .eu name to ADR under EU law. Court proceedings remain possible alongside each route; for .nl the SIDN rules say so (Article 21 SIDN Dispute Resolution Regulations).

Route	Domains	What you must show	Result
SIDN Regulations, decided by a WIPO panelist	.nl	Name identical or confusingly similar to your right under Dutch law; no rights or legitimate interest; registered or used in bad faith	You become the registrant
UDRP (ICANN), for example at WIPO	.com and other generic domains	Name identical or confusingly similar to your trade mark; no rights or legitimate interests; registered and used in bad faith	Transfer or cancellation
.eu ADR (CAC or WIPO)	.eu	Name identical or confusingly similar to a right under EU or national law; no rights or legitimate interest, or bad faith	Revocation; transfer only to an eligible party
Dutch court	Any domain held by a Dutch party	Trade mark or trade name infringement, or a tort	Ban on use, transfer, damages, legal costs

What must you prove in a .nl domain name dispute?

You must prove three things. The domain is identical or confusingly similar to a trade mark or trade name protected under Dutch law in which you have rights; the holder has no rights or legitimate interests; and the name was registered or is used in bad faith (Article 2.1 SIDN Regulations).

The bad faith test is lighter than under the UDRP: WIPO notes that either bad faith registration or bad faith use is enough for .nl. Examples in Article 3.2 include offering the name to you for more than the registration cost, blocking or disrupting your business, and attracting internet users for commercial gain through confusion with your brand.

For a foreign company, the first question is whether its trade mark registration covers the Netherlands at all.

Finding your own brand on someone else’s .nl address feels like theft, and often it is. My first advice: do not send an angry email yet. Until SIDN hears of a complaint, the holder can still move or cancel the name; SIDN locks it only once WIPO informs it of the complaint (Article 6). In the first days I ask you for three things: your trade mark registration, dated screenshots of the domain, and any contact with the holder, such as an offer to sell.

Your former distributor kept the .nl domain: what can you do?

A former distributor that keeps a .nl domain with your brand can often be made to give it up, but its earlier authorised use may count in its favour: the SIDN Regulations accept a bona fide offering before notice of the dispute as a legitimate interest (Article 3.1(a)).

For foreign manufacturers this is a common scenario, and the answer starts with the contract. If the distribution agreement says that domain names with your brand belong to you, I claim the transfer on that basis first. If it says nothing, the distributor has an argument: it used the name for years to sell your products. What counts is what it does with the name after the end, such as redirecting it to a competitor or offering it for sale. If only the name is at stake, I start with a WIPO complaint; if it keeps selling under your brand, I go to court. See also our page for a distribution agreement lawyer in the Netherlands.

Has someone registered your brand as a .nl domain? Send me the domain and your trade mark through my page as Dutch intellectual property lawyer, and I will tell you which route fits.

How does the SIDN procedure work, and how long does it take?

You file a complaint with the WIPO Center; the holder has 20 calendar days to respond. After a response SIDN offers free mediation; without one, or if mediation fails, a WIPO panelist decides, normally within 14 days of the end of the written phase (Articles 7, 8 and 14 SIDN Regulations).

1. WIPO checks the complaint within three calendar days and notifies the holder; once SIDN hears of it, the name is locked (Articles 5.1 and 6).
2. The holder has 20 calendar days to respond (Article 7.1). Without a response, the complaint is granted unless it has no basis in law or fact (Article 10.3).
3. After a response, free SIDN mediation lasts up to 30 days, twice extendable if both sides agree (Article 8.2).
4. Without response or settlement, you pay the fixed fee within ten calendar days; WIPO appoints a panelist within five days (Articles 7.4, 8.4 and 9.1).
5. The panelist decides, save in exceptional circumstances, within 14 days of the end of the written phase. Ten working days after WIPO notifies SIDN of the decision, SIDN carries out the change of registrant that your registrar requests, unless the holder has sued in a Dutch court (Articles 14.2, 14.4, 20.1 and 20.2).

The fixed fee is € 1,500 for one to five domain names (€ 500 administration charge and € 1,000 panelist fee) and € 2,000 for six to ten (Annex 3, version 1 January 2023). There is no award of costs, so you pay this fee even if you win (Article 23.4). If either party is based outside the Netherlands, the procedure runs in English (Article 17.2).

When is a Dutch court the better route?

Go to court when you need more than the name: a ban on using your trade mark, damages or your legal costs. A Dutch court can order the holder to stop using the domain, to hand its registration over to you, or both (SIDN, Infringement of rights).

A trade mark owner can prevent use of an identical or similar sign in the course of trade under the conditions of Article 2.20(2) Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property (BCIP); for an EU trade mark, comparable protection follows from Article 9 Regulation (EU) 2017/1001. A trade name containing someone else’s trade mark is prohibited if it confuses the public about the origin of goods (Article 5a Trade Name Act); an earlier trade name is protected by Article 5. Otherwise a tort claim under Article 6:162 Dutch Civil Code may help. See our pages on enforcing trade mark rights in the Netherlands and trade name infringement.

In urgent cases the preliminary relief judge gives a provisional order in summary proceedings, the kort geding (Article 254 Dutch Code of Civil Procedure); see our page on kort geding in the Netherlands. In trade mark and trade name cases the loser pays the winner’s reasonable and proportionate legal costs on request, unless fairness dictates otherwise (Article 1019h Dutch Code of Civil Procedure).

The SIDN procedure gives you the name back, and nothing else. If the holder sells under your brand, you want the use stopped, with a penalty, and your costs paid. Only a court can do that; when it is urgent I choose summary proceedings.

Two published cases show the court route. In the first, I was a lawyer on appeal for a Belgian trade mark owner. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal held that it could prohibit use of its mark in a Dutch company’s trade name and domain names. It ordered that company, among other things, to stop using a .nl and a .com domain (Amsterdam Court of Appeal 19 June 2018, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2018:2032). In the second, summary proceedings, I acted with another lawyer for an Israeli company representing the trade mark owner. According to the claimant, the defendant had bought assets from the estate of a bankrupt franchisee. The judge in The Hague ordered it to stop using several domain names, including .nl names, within two days; the defendant did not appear (District Court of The Hague 22 August 2017, ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2017:9497). Both orders banned use of the domains; neither transferred them.

What if a Dutch company holds your brand as a .eu or .com domain?

For a .com name you use the UDRP, where the name must have been registered and used in bad faith. For a .eu name, EU law allows revocation and, where necessary, transfer after an ADR or court procedure (Article 4(4) Regulation (EU) 2019/517).

Under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, the panel orders cancellation or transfer (paragraph 4(i)); the registrar then waits ten business days for any court action (paragraph 4(k)). At WIPO, one to five names before one panelist cost USD 1,500 (WIPO Schedule of Fees, as of November 2026).

For .eu, the name must match a right under EU or national law and have been registered without rights or legitimate interest, or be registered or used in bad faith. EURid lists the Czech Arbitration Court and WIPO as ADR providers (EURid, domain name disputes). A .eu name can only be transferred to a party eligible to hold one (Article 4(6)).

For .eu, I first check whether you may keep the name after winning. If a subsidiary in the EU holds the right, we bring the complaint in its name.

Practical example: an e-bike brand and its former Dutch distributor

This is an illustration, not a real case. A US maker of e-bikes ends its Dutch distribution agreement; the distributor holds the brand as a .nl and a .eu domain and redirects both to a rival brand. The maker’s German subsidiary holds the EU trade mark.

1. The maker records the redirects with dated screenshots and sends no letter.
2. The German subsidiary, as holder of the EU trade mark, files a WIPO complaint for the .nl name under the SIDN Regulations; the name is locked.
3. The same subsidiary, established in the EU, files the ADR complaint for the .eu name.
4. When the distributor advertises the rival bikes under the brand, the subsidiary starts summary proceedings for infringement of its EU trade mark (Article 9 Regulation (EU) 2017/1001).

When should you instruct a Dutch lawyer?

Instruct a Dutch lawyer as soon as you find your brand in someone else’s domain, before you write to the holder. As claimant, you can only sue in a Dutch district court through a lawyer (Article 79(2) Dutch Code of Civil Procedure), and a holder can stop a WIPO transfer by suing in a Dutch court (Article 20.1 SIDN Regulations).

As a Dutch IP lawyer at MAAK Advocaten, I would rather hear from you before the first letter. You know your brand; we handle the procedure, in English, and coordinate with your lawyer at home.

How does MAAK Advocaten handle a domain name dispute?

We work in four steps, from establishing your rights to the moment the name is registered to you. In court we act in first instance and on appeal, on the basis of your Benelux or EU trade mark or the Trade Name Act.

1. We establish your rights in the Netherlands and the EU and record how the domain is used.
2. We choose the route: SIDN and WIPO, the UDRP, .eu ADR or a Dutch court.
3. I draft the complaint or the summons and handle the mediation or the hearing.
4. We make sure the name is actually registered to you or your EU company through a registrar.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a .nl domain name dispute take?

It depends on whether the holder responds. Without a response, its 20-day period runs out, WIPO appoints a panelist within five days of your payment and the panelist normally decides within 14 days. With a response, SIDN mediation of up to 30 days comes first.

What does a .nl domain name dispute cost?

WIPO charges a fixed fee of € 1,500 for one to five domain names and € 2,000 for six to ten (Annex 3 to the SIDN Regulations). You pay it only if the holder does not respond or mediation fails, and the panelist cannot order the holder to repay it.

Can I claim damages in a SIDN domain name procedure?

No. The only remedy under the SIDN Dispute Resolution Regulations is a change of registrant: you become the holder of the .nl domain. For damages, a ban on using your trade mark or your legal costs, you need a Dutch court.

Can the holder stop the transfer after a WIPO decision?

Yes, for a time. SIDN carries out the transfer ten working days after it is notified of the decision, unless the holder shows within that period that it has started proceedings before a Dutch court. SIDN then waits until that dispute is finally decided or settled.

Do I need a Dutch lawyer for a domain name dispute?

The SIDN Regulations do not require a lawyer for a WIPO complaint, but the choice of route and the evidence of bad faith decide the outcome. Court proceedings in the Netherlands do require a lawyer. MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam handles both routes for foreign brand owners, in English.

Primary sources

• SIDN Dispute Resolution Regulations for .nl Domain Names, version 1 September 2024: Articles 1–3, 5–10, 14, 17, 20, 21 and 23
• Annex 3 to the SIDN Dispute Resolution Regulations, costs, version 1 January 2023
• SIDN, Does a domain name infringe on your brand or trade name?
• WIPO Domain Name Dispute Resolution Service for .NL: differences with the UDRP
• ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy: paragraphs 4(a), 4(i) and 4(k)
• WIPO Schedule of Fees under the UDRP
• Regulation (EU) 2019/517 on the .eu top-level domain name, OJ L 91, 29.3.2019, p. 25: Articles 3 and 4
• EURid, domain name disputes: ADR providers
• EURid, What to know before registering a .eu domain name: eligibility in the EU and the EEA
• Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the European Union trade mark: Article 9
• Article 2.20 Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property: rights conferred by a trade mark
• Article 5 Trade Name Act: earlier trade name
• Article 5a Trade Name Act: trade name containing a trade mark
• Article 6:162 Dutch Civil Code: tort
• Article 79 Dutch Code of Civil Procedure: representation by a lawyer
• Article 254 Dutch Code of Civil Procedure: summary proceedings
• Article 1019h Dutch Code of Civil Procedure: legal costs in IP cases
• Amsterdam Court of Appeal 19 June 2018, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2018:2032: trade mark in trade name and domain names
• District Court of The Hague 22 August 2017, ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2017:9497: ban on use of domain names in summary proceedings

Has your brand been registered as a .nl, .eu or .com domain by someone else? Put your situation to me: call +31 20 210 31 38 or send your question through my page as Dutch intellectual property lawyer. — Arnout Gieske