Linking to diesel.com and use of “supplier” in relation to Diesel constitutes a violation of good ma

Diesel Denmark ApS vs. Fabric Denmark ApS etc, the Maritime and Commercial Court

Diesel is a subsidiary to the Italian design and clothing company Diesel SpA, which owns the trademark DIESEL since 1955. Diesel SpA is the owner of the website diesel.com, and Diesel is the exclusive distributor of Diesel products in Denmark.

Fabric is the owner of the domain name and responsible for the website at fabric.nu. The website contained a list of “suppliers” with different trademarks, among others DIESEL, and by clicking on DIESEL the visitor was linked to diesel.com.

Fabric was not an authorized DIESEL dealer, but bought discontinued or surplus DIESEL products from authorized Diesel dealers in Denmark and abroad.

The court found that the use of the term “suppliers” in connection with DIESEL and the linking to diesel.com was misleading and providing the false impression that the Fabric shops were authorized DIESEL dealers.

Use of DIESEL on the website was an intentional exploitation of the goodwill in the Diesel trademark beyond what was necessary in order to inform that the Fabric shops were selling DIESEL products.

Consequently, the use of DIESEL and linking to diesel.com was considered a violation of good marketing practice, and Fabric was ordered to pay compensation and damages with DKK 25,000 (approx. EUR 3,300).