Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer
The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.
ACUMEN ENTERPRISES INC. v. JONATHAN MARK MORGAN
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (DALLAS)
3:11-CV-00619
FILED: 03/28/2011
Okay, this might be a case of cybersquatting although the Defendant only used the domain name as a tool for his own job search and it does not appear to be competing commercially with the Plaintiff. But the more interesting thing about this case is that an apparently sophisticated business operating for almost 10 years apparently never thought to spend the $8.00 to register its business name as a domain name. Make sure you register your business name, and close typos of your name, so that you can avoid this type of embarrassing and financially expensive problem.
Acumen Enterprises, the Plaintiff, was formed in November 2011, and for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, claims total revenues of over $6 million and 50 employees. It operates by the name “Acumen Enterprises”. The Defendant is being sued for cybersquatting because on July 21, 2010 it registered the domain name “acumenenterprises.com” and this was apparently available because the Plaintiff was using “acumen-enterprises.com”.
The lawsuit includes claims for federal trademark infringement, federal unfair competition, cybersquatting, common law trademark infringement and unfair competition, tortious interference with business relationships, and common law tort of passing off. The Plaintiff requests that the court grant them extensive preliminary and permanent injunctive relief along with transfer of the infringing domain name, a judgment for $100,000 statutory damages per infringing domain name, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, treble damages, and any additional relief the Court deems equitable. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1483.
