The French Association of International Festival of Movie filed a complaint before the Arbitration Center for .eu domain names against the owner of festivaldecannes.eu on the basis of its trademarks registration for FESTIVAL DE CANNES.
On May 1st, 2007, the Center ruled that the registrant of the domain name had no legitimate rights or interest in it and ordered its transfer to the Complainant.
This solution shows the necessity holding trademark rights for special events. The reputation of the Cannes Festival would have helped anyway, as unregistered rights, even if no trademarks were held. But events of lesser reputation would not have a chance of obtaining a favourable decision if they are not trademark holders.