The Eastern District of Pennsylvania awarded the largest statutory award to date under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999. The defendant, who was ordered to pay $530,000 in damages and attorney's fees, earned up to $1 million dollars per year by registering domain names based on mispelled web sites that lured users into "mousetraps" with multiple advertising windows. The court found that defendant's use of domain names that are "confusingly similar" to plaintiff's domain names were not used to identify the defendant or for bona fide business purposes. The court also noted that the defendant had previously been enjoined from registering misspelled names in suits brought by other companies. Defendant failed to respond or appear in court.
Opinion at http://www.gigalaw.com/library/electronicsboutique-zuccarini-2000-10-30-p1.html
Article at http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=law/View&c=Article&cid=ZZZSY7HXYEC&live=true&cst=1&pc=0&pa=0
Keywords: advertising, cybersquatting, domain names
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