Nintendo yesterday filed a mass domain name lawsuit in a federal
court against 21 individuals based in the US, Hong Kong and Brazil,
who registered 55 domain names on the grounds that their web sites
wilfully infringe the trademarks of its Pokemon brand and
characters.
The suit alleges that the registration of Pokemon-related
Internet domain names constitutes trademark infringement, dilution
and cyberpiracy, a violation of the US Anti-Cybersquatting
Protection Act, and unfair or deceptive trade practices. Nintendo
has targeted domain names that are attempting to profit from the
popularity of Pokemon.
Nintendo is seeking monetary damages, a transfer of all the
domain names to Nintendo, and an immediate injunction against the
transferring or registering of any domain names likely to infringe
on Nintendo trademarks.
“These web sites are an obvious attempt to profit illegally from
the success of Pokemon,” said Richard Flamm, Nintendo's vice
president, legal and general counsel. "Nintendo is intent on
protecting its brands and properties against any attempt of
cybersquatting."
