Lamparello set up his site in order, he says, to "engage Rev.
Falwell and his ministry in debate about his views of gays and
lesbians". The site is critical of the Reverend but contains clear
statements that it is in no way affiliated to him or his
ministries.
Reverend Falwell took objection to Laparello's use of the name
Fallwell – a satirical misspelling of his own – and sued last year.
Such disputes are often characterised as 'typosquatting'.
Judge Claude Hilton of the Alexandria District Court ruled in
August that the domain was very similar to Falwell's registered
trade mark in the term "Jerry Falwell" and that it might confuse
web users. However, the judge stayed an injunction awarded against
Lamparello until his appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has
been heard.
According to the Associated Press, the national ACLU and its
Virginia branch have now submitted briefs to the 4th Circuit,
arguing that Lamparello, a gay rights activist, has a free speech
right to use the domain name in that it is descriptive of content,
like a film or book title.
In addition, says ACLU, criticism of a public figure is
protected under the constitution.
