Topics in Brief

• Author: International Law Group

European Commission approves ADM's purchase of London company

On Friday, August 1, 2003, the EC Commission gave the green light to the plans of Illinois-based Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) to buy London-based Van den Bergh, the edible oils refining subsidiary of major food producer, Unilever NV of the Netherlands. Unilever owns brands such as Knorr, Bertolli, Ben & Jerry's, Magnum, Cornetto and Lipton's, as well as personal care products such as Dove, Snuggle, Axe, Pond's and Sunsilk. On the other hand, ADM is one of the world's major processors of soybeans, corn, wheat and cocoa. It has 24,000 employees in more than 260 processing plants, reporting net sales of $22.6 billion for 2002. "The transaction broadens ADM's activities on the seed oil and bakery fat markets, but no competition concerns arise," the Commission said in a statement.

Citation: The Associated Press, Brussels, August 1, 2003; filed 10:02 a.m. ET (from New York Times online)

In dispute over internet domain name, German High Court gives priority to name bearer

In a recent case involving a disputed internet domain name, the German High Court (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) has given priority to the name bearer. The plaintiff in this case was a lawyer with the name of Werner Maxem who wanted to use his name as the internet domain of his law office. The defendant had been using the name "Maxem" (www.maxem.de) since 1990 to market his network communication services through the internet. The district court and later the State Supreme Court in Cologne dismissed the claim because there was no confusion between the parties' use of Maxem. Further, the defendant has acquired certain rights to the name Maxem by using it to promote his services. The German High Court, however, disagrees. It rules that defendant's use of Maxem in his internet domain was an unauthorized use of the name which the true name-bearer can enjoin. An alias is generally protected only if its user has become commonly...