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Minnesota Public Radio Sues Virginia Radio Station over Name "The Current"
2007-10-12 05:28:00
I spent my undergraduate days at a Catholic college in aptly named Collegeville, Minnesota , where Minnesota Public Radio was founded. Therefore, I was more interested than perhaps most Seattle-based trademark lawyers to learn that MPR had brought suit against another radio station for alleged infringement of MPR’s trademark, THE CURRENT. MPR, home of Garrison Keilor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” radio show, filed suit at the end of last year in the District of Minnesota against Virginia Beach Educational Broadcast Foundation, Inc., d/b/a Positive Hit Radio The Current , based on Positive Hit Radio’s alleged use of THE CURRENT and CURRENT FM trademarks in connection with radio services. MPR’s false designation of origin, cybersquatting, unfair competition, and common law trademark infringement claims are based on MPR’s alleged ownership of THE CURRENT, LIVE CURRENT, CROSS CURRENTS, THE CURRENT HOOTENANNY, and THE CURRENT FAKEBOOK trademark...
More About: Infringement

Court Refuses to Transfer Title of Trademarks to Satisfy Judgment
2007-10-11 04:43:00
In 2005, Keystone Laminates, Inc., obtained a default judgment against KlipTech Composites, Inc., owned by defendants Joel and Leeann Klippert, in the total amount of approximately $120,000. Keystone alleges that during supplemental proceedings, it learned that KlipTech had sufficient assets in 2004 to satisfy its debt to Keystone, but that KlipTech instead transferred those assets to Paneltech International, LLC, one of KlipTech’s former clients.In 2007, Keystone filed suit in the Western District against Mr. and Mrs. Klippert and Paneltech for fraudulent transfer, corporate successor liability as to Paneltech, and to pierce KlipTech’s and Paneltech’s corporate veils as necessary to prevent abuse of the corporate form to frustrate Keystone’s ability to collect on its judgment. In September, it moved for an order transferring title of the trademarks from KlipTech to Keystone to satisfy its judgment. In support of i...
More About: Transfer , Civil Procedure , Judgment , Title , Court

New York Theater Threatens Women's Expressive Theater Over WET
2007-10-10 03:20:00
Seattle alternative newspaper The Stranger discussed a threatened trademark lawsuit today in its blog, Slog. It states the Women’s Expressive Theater , Inc., of New York has sent “four cease and desist letters” to the Washington Ensemble Theatre of Seattle over the latter’s acronym, WET. Last year, Women’s obtained a federal registration for WET in connection with “education and entertainment in the nature of theater productions, live readings of plays, screenplays and fiction, organizing panel discussions, conducting workshops, providing facilities for showing films, all related to women and the arts.” Women’s apparently thinks Seattle theatergoers are likely to be confused between the two companies since they are both WET for short.The Stranger quotes a Washington Ensemble member as asking: “What is the state of nonprofit theater in America today when one theater a...
More About: Infringement , New-York

New York Theater Threatens Washington Ensemble Theatre Over WET
2007-10-10 03:20:00
Seattle alternative newspaper The Stranger discussed a threatened trademark lawsuit today in its blog, Slog. It states the Women’s Expressive Theater , Inc., of New York has sent “four cease and desist letters” to the Washington Ensemble Theatre of Seattle over the latter’s acronym, WET. Last year, Women’s obtained a federal registration for WET in connection with “education and entertainment in the nature of theater productions, live readings of plays, screenplays and fiction, organizing panel discussions, conducting workshops, providing facilities for showing films, all related to women and the arts.” Women’s apparently thinks Seattle theatergoers are likely to be confused between the two companies since they are both WET for short.The Stranger quotes a Washington Ensemble member as asking: “What is the state of nonprofit theater in America today when one theater a...
More About: Infringement

Anesthesiology Board Sues Local Doctor for Infringing Its Certification Mar
2007-10-09 04:35:00
On Oct. 5, Seattle physician Ray Liao, M.D., agreed to a preliminary injunction enjoining him pending trial from “infringing upon the [American Board of Anesthesiology, Inc.’s] name and certification marks,” and from “[m]aking any representation, including any use of brochures, certificates, letterhead, business cards or other written information indicating or implying that the defendant is Board certified by the ABA.”The ABA’s Sept. 18 complaint alleges that Dr. Liao intentionally used the ABA’s certification mark, THE AMERICAN BOARD OF ANESTHESIOLOGY and design, with the “clear intent to deceive others into believing that he is an ABA Diplomate and that he is an ABA-certified anesthesiologist.” In particular, the ABA alleges that Dr. Liao provided a representative of the Northwest Credentials Verification Service a “counterfeit reproduction of an actual ABA certificate” that contains Dr. Liao’s name ...
More About: Infringement , Local , Certification , Doctor

Richard Jones Confirmed as Western District Judge
2007-10-08 06:27:00
Last week, the Senate confirmed Richard  Jones as federal judge in the Western District of Washington. He replaces Judge John Coughenour, who went on senior status last year. Judge Jones, 56, is a 1975 graduate of the University of Washington School of Law. He served as a King County deputy prosecutor, staff attorney for the Port of Seattle, associate attorney at the former Seattle law firm of Bogle & Gates, and assistant U.S. attorney before being elected to the King County Superior Court bench in 1994. While on the bench, Judge Jones presided over the Green River Killer trial in which he sentenced Gary Ridgway to 48 consecutive life terms. The Seattle Times reported that he was among the most highly-ranked King County Superior Court judges in a lawyer survey in 2003 and was named “judge of the year” by the King County and Washington State Bar Associations in 2004. His half-brother is celebrated musician Quincy J...

Trademark Dilution Revision Act Now One Year Old
2007-10-08 06:06:00
It’s been a full year of “likelihood of dilution.” On Oct. 6, 2006, President Bush signed the Trademark Dilution Revision Act, which changed how practitioners, academics, trademark owners, and the courts view famous marks. This week, I’ll recap some of the more important decisions under the new statute. In the meantime, check out 43(B)logger Rebecca Tushnet’s dispatches (here, here, here, and here) from Santa Clara University’s timely conference on “Trademark Dilution: Theoretical and Empirical Inquiries.” There’s tons of great stuff in her detailed record of the event.
More About: Year

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reports on Baden v. Molten Case
2007-10-05 02:27:00
On Oct. 2, the Seattle Post -Intelligencer ran a story on the Baden v. Molten decision in which a Western District jury awarded the plaintiff more than $8 million based on defendants’ false advertising and patent infringement. (STL’s previous post on the case here.) Prof. Tushnet also discussed the decision. Her take: “I’m surprised that a false claim that products were ‘innovative’ could produce such a large award. The term is at least close to puffing, unless there are more specific associated claims. I wonder if the jury wasn’t including compensation for patent infringement in there as well, despite the fact that logically the claims are independent; one could falsely advertise one’s basketballs as ‘innovative’ merely by producing standard old basketballs.”The case cite is Baden Sports, Inc. v. Kabushiki Kaisha Molten, No. 06-210, 2007 WL 2790777 (W.D. Wash.).
More About: Case , Ports

An Imperfect Decision, Perfect 10 Founder Says
2007-10-04 04:41:00
Norm Zada, founder of Perfect 10, talks to InsideCounsel about losing millions to copyright infringement, how he’d stop infringers, and why the Ninth Circuit was wrong in deciding his case. Here’s a sample:InsideCounsel: “The 9th Circuit ruled 2-1 that the credit card companies were not liable for contributory copyright [and trademark] infringement because they did not ‘materially contribute’ to the infringements. What is wrong with this reasoning?”Mr. Zada: “Some of the panel just doesn’t get it. It is not the policy of the U.S. to aid and abet those who profit from massive theft…. We know what happens to someone who is fencing stolen property. There is civil and criminal liability. But if you are fencing $50 billion of stolen IP, you don’t even have any civil liability, according to this panel. It is unbelievable…. According to the majority of the panel, this doesn’t contribute to infringem...
More About: Founder , Infringement , Decision , Perfect 10

Chief Justice Roberts: Political Parties Are Like Trademarks
2007-10-03 05:08:00
The Associated Press yesterday reported on oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that challenges Washington State’s primary system. Currently, voters here must pick a party and then vote for candidates within that party. A new law would replace that scheme, allowing voters to select their favorite candidates regardless of party affiliation. Litigation has prevented the law from taking effect.The AP stated that “Chief Justice John Roberts compared the case to a trademark dispute. The two major parties are trying to protect their ‘brand’ to ensure that only those who agree with the party’s principles are identified with that party, he said.“Under the law as approved, ‘people will be confused,’ Roberts said. Candidates might ‘look like Republicans but aren’t.’”That’s an interesting take. To the extent voters look at Candidate X, see she’s a Democrat, and have an accurate p...
More About: Political , Parties , Justice Roberts

Baden Wins $8M False Advertising Award But Not Fees or Interest
2007-10-01 06:26:00
There’s a lot of money in basketballs.On August 16, a Western District jury found Kabushiki Kaisha Molten and Molten USA, Inc., liable to its competitor, Baden Sports, Inc., for falsely advertising that its new cushioned basketball was “innovative.” It awarded Baden $8,054,579 in damages. STL discussion of the case here, here, and here.On Sept. 25, Judge Marsha Pechman entered a permanent injunction enjoining Molten from advertising to United States consumers that its “dual cushion” basketballs are “innovative.” The injunction applies to advertising both within the United States and advertising outside of the United States that is directed to U.S. consumers.Based on the jury’s separate finding that Molten had infringed Baden’s patent, the court also enjoined Molten from continuing to sell or offer to sell its “dual cushion” basketballs. The jury awarded Baden $38,031 on that cla...
More About: Advertising , Fees , Attorney , Interest , Award

Ninth Circuit Vacates Injunction Enjoining Possible Trademark Disparagement
2007-09-28 05:37:00
The 43(B)log beat me to a new trademark case that’s worth checking out. On Sept. 26, the Ninth Circuit vacated the District of Arizona’s preliminary injunction enjoining defendant Tim Oey “from making any comments that could be construed as to disparage upon [the plaintiff Freecycle Network’s] possible trademark and logo” and requiring Mr. Oey to “remove all postings from the [I]nternet and any other public forums that he has previously made that disparage [The Freecycle Network’s] possible trademark and logo.” Just as interesting as the opinion is the list of attorneys weighing in on Mr. Oey’s behalf. It includes Marty Schwimmer, Mark Lemley, Lawrence Lessig, “Amici 38 Intellectual Property Law Professors” and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. With firepower like this, you know the stakes were high. For a summary of the decision, check out Prof. Tushnet’s post.The case ...
More About: Infringement , Trademark , Junction , Spar

Bourne Ultimatum: Vancouver Furniture Importer Settles Trade Dress Case
2007-09-27 06:19:00
On Sept. 25, Vancouver , Wash.-based furniture importer Bourne International, Inc., settled its trade dress and copyright infringement claims against Chet Stoler and his company, South Seas Trading Co. (Previous STL coverage discussing the Western District’s refusal to enter the parties’ stipulated protective order here.)Bourne had alleged that Mr. Stoler, a former Bourne officer, director, and shareholder, had been responsible for the manufacturing, designing, importing, and marketing of Bourne’s furniture lines, including a line called THE LEAF COLLECTION. Bourne alleged that Mr. Stoler set up a competing importing business and sold items from THE LEAF COLLECTION to Bourne’s customers without Bourne’s authorization, infringing Bourne’s trade dress.The parties’ Stipulation and Final Judgment describes THE LEAF COLLECTION’s trade dress as: “banana leaves, reticulate venaton on each banana leaf, each l...
More About: Furniture , Dress , Trade , Case

Western District Denies Cascade Financial's Preliminary Injunction Motion
2007-09-26 03:24:00
The Western District today denied Cascade Fina ncial Corp.’s and Cascade Bank’s motion for preliminary injunction against Issaquah Community Bank, Capital Bancorp, Ltd., and Robert Ittes. (STL coverage of this case here and here.) Plaintiffs had argued that defendants’ use of ISSAQUAH COMMUNITY BANK as a name and trademark infringes plaintiffs’ ISSAQUAH BANK trademark for competing banking services. Judge Thomas Zilly decided the motion without oral argument. The court stated it will enter an opinion explaining the basis for its ruling at a later date. The case cite is Cascade Financial Corp. v. Issaquah Community Bank, No. 07-1106 (W.D. Wash.).
More About: Infringement , Motion

Memorial Set for Eastern District Judge Alan McDonald
2007-09-25 04:47:00
A memorial will be held for Eastern District Judge Alan McDonald, who died in July at age 79. Judge McDonald was appointed by President Reagan in 1985. He had been on senior status for the past 11 years. The memorial is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 5 in the second floor courtroom of the William O. Douglas Courthouse in Yakima, Wash.
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reports on Starbucks Logo "Parody"
2007-09-24 06:12:00
On Sept. 21, the Seattle Post -Intelligencer ran a story about a Christian-themed clothier selling T-shirts and caps with a Christian spin on Starbucks ’ familiar logo. It replaces the siren with Jesus and the words “Starbucks Coffee” with “Sacrificed for Me.” It only comes in one color: coffee. It’s available locally for $14.99 at a Shell gas station in Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill neighborhood, and on the Internet at www.christiantshirts.com and www.JesusHats.com.The maker, Berryville, Ark.-based Kerusso, is the nation’s largest Christian-themed apparel company. Kerusso told the P-I: “It’s interesting how many of our parodies do end up as best-sellers. I think people like the fact that they can get a little chuckle out of something and at the same time express their faith.”   Parody or infringement?Kerusso’s (left) and Kieron Dwyer’s adaptationsWhile it may be a be...
More About: Infringement

Scotts and TerraCycle Settle; "Sued by Scotts" Web Site to Come Down
2007-09-22 03:34:00
The Scotts Company and its parent, OMS Investments, Inc., have settled their trade dress and false advertising dispute with TerraCycle, Inc., the parties announced today. (STL’s May 16 post about the case here.) Scotts sells the MIRACLE-GRO line of plant food; TerraCycle sells plant food under its own name. Both use green and yellow packaging.         TerraCycle will drop its green-and-yellow packaging (left); Scotts will drop its lawsuit.As part of the Sept. 15 settlement, Scotts dismissed the case it filed in the District of New Jersey. In exchange, TerraCycle, while not admitting liability, agreed to phase out all use of specified trade dress, any trade dress that is confusingly similar with Scotts’ MIRACLE-GRO trade dress, and any trade dress that is confusingly similar to Scotts’ “green and yellow” trade dress.TerraCycle also agreed to take down its “Sued by Scotts” Web site within three mont...
More About: Site , Settle

Western District Dismisses Mother's Trade Dress Claims Against LL Bean
2007-09-21 03:38:00
On Sept. 18, Western District Magistrate Judge Kelley Arnold granted L.L. Bean , Inc.’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, dismissing Mother, LLC’s trade dress claims stemming from the parties’ competing hunting vests. The court granted the motion after Mother rested its case on the second day of trial. The docket’s minute entry is dramatic in its own way: “Plaintiff rests. Jury excused. [L.L. Bean] moves for judgment as a matter of law; [Mother] argues - Granted. Court is at recess.” Sometimes, justice is swift.Western District finds no trade dress infringement:Mother Daypack (with belt extended) and Bean Upland VestpackFor additional background, check out STL’s posts on the case from April 9, August 8, August 25, and September 16.The case cite is Mother, LLC v. L.L. Bean, Inc., No. 06-5540 (W.D. Wash.).
More About: Dress , Trade

NIKEPAL Dilutes NIKE
2007-09-20 06:06:00
On Sept. 10, the Eastern District of California found that Nike pal International, Inc.’s use of NIKEPAL in connection with laboratory goods and services dilutes by blurring Nike, Inc.’s NIKE trademarks under the Trademark Dilution Revision Act’s likelihood of dilution standard. For this reason, the court also reversed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s dismissal of Nike’s opposition to Nikepal’s registration of NIKEPAL. On Sept. 18, the court amended its findings of fact and conclusions of law, which are available here. (STL previously discussed the court’s order on summary judgment here.)Nike has used NIKE in connection with athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment since the 1970s. It owns ten federal registrations for the NIKE word mark alone, and 19 others involving the word NIKE. It is the largest athletic seller of athletic footwear and apparel in the world.Nikepal has used NIKEPAL in connection with glass syringes an...
More About: Utes

District of Oregon Finds MCR-WEST Infringes MTR WESTERN for Bus Services
2007-09-18 05:52:00
On Sept. 10, the District of Oregon entered findings of fact and conclusions of law in a trademark infringement case between two charter bus companies, plaintiff Meridian Transportation Resources, LLC, and defendant Magic Carrier Resources, LLC. After a one-day trial, Magistrate Judge Janice Stewart found that defendant’s MCR-WEST trademark infringed plaintiff’s MTR WESTERN mark.Seattle-based MTR West ern operates 30 buses in Portland and is Oregon’s second-largest charger motor coach carrier. The court found it uses the following trade dress: “a solid gold painted motor coach with a decal on its side, close to the windows that reads MTR WESTERN in its stylized trademark format. This stylization includes ‘MTR’ in bold and italic font, and ‘Western’ in cursive font, accompanied by a logo with two swirls in contrasting colors … close to the driver’s side window of the motor coach. The Swirl Design logo and the MTR Western (Sty...
More About: Services , Infringement

Western District Fixes Sanction Award in Mother v. L.L. Bean Case at $5,000
2007-09-17 04:42:00
STL has written about the Mother , LLC v. L.L. Bean , Inc., trade dress infringement suit, including Mother’s discovery violations, here, here, and here. On September 13, the Western District fixed the attorney’s fees it awarded L.L. Bean in its August 7 sanctions order at $5,172 — the full amount L.L. Bean requested. Mother did not oppose the amount and informed the court it will send L.L. Bean a check.Trial is scheduled to begin tomorrow.The case cite is Mother, LLC v. L.L. Bean, Inc., No. 06-5540 (W.D. Wash.).
More About: Fees , Attorney

Bloomberg News: Microsoft Files Cybersquatting Lawsuits
2007-09-14 21:37:00
Not to be outdone by the likes of this blog, Bloomberg News  today reported that Microsoft has filed three lawsuits against alleged cybersquatters. One of the three is Microsoft Corp. v. Kovyrin (complaint here), which STL reported on yesterday. Interestingly, the lawsuits are part of a unified effort against cybersquatters involving trademark owners Dell Inc., Time Warner Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Yahoo! Inc., as well as the International Trademark Association. (INTA press release here).The Bloomberg story cites Microsoft as saying it has brought 15 similar cases in the past year, enabling it “to take possession of more than 2,000 misused domain names and recover more than $1.17 million in illegal profits.”
More About: Lawsuits , Files

Microsoft Sues Alleged Cybersquatters
2007-09-14 05:03:00
On Sept. 10, Microsoft Corp. filed suit in the Western District against Canadian resident Oleksiy Kovyrin, Digi Real Estate Foundation, and John Does, alleging that the defendants are the registrants and users of 70 domain names that infringe Microsoft’s trademarks and violate the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.At issue in the case is defendants’ alleged use or intentional misspelling of Microsoft’s MICROSOFT, MSN, WINDOWS, and other registered trademarks in domain names including microsoftaccessdatabase.com, microsoftantivirus.com, microsoft-developer.com, msnaccount.com, msnantispyware.com, msnhotmai.com, msnhotmial.com, msnmessenger.com, msnsearch.com, windoms.com, windowmoviemaker.com, windowsmedaiplayer.com, and windowsserver.com.Microsoft alleges that “Many of the Infringing Domain Names resolve to websites that are controlled by Defendants…. Many of these websites display advertis...
More About: Cybersquatting , Squat , Quat

Seattle Trademark Lawyer Welcomes Vegas Trademark Attorney
2007-09-13 05:50:00
I can’t help but admire the descriptiveness of this blog — Vegas Trademark Attorney . (As a trademark, its almost as protectable as Seattle Trademark Lawyer .) VTA is in its infancy, on its ninth post. But so far, I’m impressed. Publisher Ryan Gile wrote a long post yesterday about Jon Bon Jovi’s dispute over the Mijovi Company’s attempt to register MIJOVI for soft drinks and energy drinks. I particularly like how frequently Mr. Gile links to the PTO’s TARR database (something I’m sure to emulate), as well as his copious case citations. He’s got another good post about Nokia’s Sept. 4 registration of a sound mark for its default ring tone. If the tune is not already emblazoned in your mind, it’s “a sound comprising a C eighth note, E flat eight[h] note, B flat eighth note, G quarter note, C eighth note and C quarter note.” But, it...

Western District Finds Bad Faith in VERICHECK Cybersquatting Case
2007-09-12 06:02:00
On August 30, the Western District denied in part and granted in part cross-motions for summary judgment brought by plaintiff David Lahoti and defendant Vericheck, Inc., on Mr. Lahoti’s complaint for declaratory relief challenging the National Arbitration Forum’s UDRP order that his domain name be transferred to Vericheck, Inc., and finding that his use does not violate the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Vericheck provides check verification services, check collection services, and wireless payments. It claims it has used the mark VERICHECK since 1995 and has maintained an Internet presence at www.vericheck.net since 1999. The company also registered vericheck.org, vericheck.cc, vericheck.us, and vericheck.biz. In 2001, Vericheck registered a service mark with the State of Georgia described as “a depiction of a check mark over the word ‘vericheck.’”Mr. Lahoti is a self-proclaimed “Internet entrepreneur....
More About: Faith , Case

What Is a Trademark? How Does It Differ from a Copyright and a Patent?
2007-09-11 06:55:00
It’s amazing how often people confuse trademarks with copyrights and patents. Not an intellectual property lawyer? Not a lawyer at all? No matter. Here’s your cheat sheet:Trademark s. The federal trademark statute, the Lanham Act, defines a trademark as “any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof [used or intended to be used] to identify and distinguish [a producer’s] goods … from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods….” 15 U.S.C. § 1127. In other words, it’s a source identifier. It’s the means that tells a person the cola he’s drinking comes from the Coca-Cola Company. That way, if he likes what he’s drinking, he’ll know where to go back for more. The owner of a trademark is protected against infringement, which occurs most often when a later-adopted trademark is confusingly similar with an earlier-adopted trademark. In the U...
More About: Copyright , Patent , Adema , Tent

Ninth Circuit Reviews Arbitration Award Enforcing Trademark License Agreeme
2007-09-10 06:07:00
On Sept. 7, the Ninth Circuit published a decision affirming in part and vacating in part an arbitrator’s award based on a trademark license agreement. The decision underscores how deferential courts are when reviewing arbitration awards, but that such deference is not unlimited.In Comedy Club, Inc. v. Improv West Associates, plaintiffs Comedy Club and Al Copeland Investments, Inc., entered into a Trademark License Agreement that granted Comedy Club an exclusive nationwide license to use Improv West’s trademarks. Thereafter, Comedy Club breached the agreement and sought to protect its interests in the trademarks by filing a declaratory judgment action in the Central District of California. The court ordered the parties to arbitrate pursuant to the agreement’s arbitration clause. The arbitrator found that Comedy Club was liable for breaching the agreement and entered an injunction enjoining Comedy Club and its affiliates from openi...
More About: Reviews , Award , Civil Procedure

STL Technical Error Corrected
2007-09-10 00:03:00
If you tried to access STL this weekend and instead were directed to my law firm bio, I apologize. My domain name registrar, Network Solutions, inadvertently changed some of my settings. The error has been corrected. Thanks for your patience!
More About: Technical , Error , Technic , Rect

Court Finds Fashion Designer Can Use His Name, But Not as a Trademark
2007-09-07 02:14:00
Design house Paul Frank Industries, Inc., brought a trademark infringement action in the Central District of California against its namesake and former designer, Paul Frank Sunich, based on the commercial use of his name. In particular, plaintiff alleged that Mr. Sunich and his companies’ Web sites, www.paulfranksunich.com, www.chasermerch.com, and www.treestitchdesign.com, and defendants’ sale of t-shirts using Mr. Sunich’s full name, “Paul Frank Sunich,” infringe PFI’s rights in its PAUL FRANK trademark. Plaintiff brought a motion for preliminary injunction to enjoin defendants from using the name “Paul Frank” in any commercial context. Defendants responded that Mr. Sunich has an absolute right to use his full name in any context, including in connection with the sale of t-shirts that he designs.On August 21, the court granted the motion in part and denied it in part. On one hand, It found: “Under trade...
More About: Fashion , Infringement , Designer , Trademark , Court

Video Only Voluntarily Dismisses Case Against Alleged Cybersquatters
2007-09-06 03:53:00
Video Only, Inc., today filed a Rule 41(a) notice of dismissal with the Western District, terminating its trademark claims against JSSI Group, Inc., Domain Name Systems, Inc., and three individual defendants. The dismissal follows a motion to dismiss that defendants filed last week.In its December 2006 complaint, the Seattle-based video retailer alleged that defendants “host, operate, provide DNS services for, serve as the registrar for the associated domain name, and/or publish the Internet web site http://www.videonly.com/….”&n bsp;Video Only alleged that defendants used this site to divert traffic from Video Only’s site and to redirect it to another site that advertises, sells, and promotes pornographic material. The complaint asserted claims for infringement, contributory infringement, infringement, false designation of origin, dilution, cybersquatting, violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, an...
More About: Video , Infringement , Case , Squat , Quat