Can identical domain names exist in different countries?

[Markssxx]

I noticed that another store in Ireland has an identical name to my store but ends with ire instead of U.K. or .com which I have in my domains. I registered mine in May 21 and at the time there was no other name identical not a companies house business name with the name. I just wondered if this is normal practice and nothing can be done about it.

[Don]

Hi there @Markssxx!

Thanks for reaching out to share your query with the Shopify Community.

The first, most important thing we need to establish here is that we are not able to give legal advice from here in Shopify.

As such, we would always have to direct you to consult a qualified expert in your jurisdiction with any legal queries you have.

We have some info here on our help site on Copyright and Intellectual Property you can check out, though again this does not constitute legal advice on our part.

If you believe that your copyright has been infringed upon, you can use the form on this page to file a DMCA take down report.

In general, the best step you could take from here to understand your rights and responsibilities would be to engage the services of a legal professional where you are.

Let us know if you have any general questions about using Shopify that we can help out with from here, please!