Volume II

Issue : 9: April 29, 2004

• The Use of Video Surveillance by Employer Violates PIPEDA
• U.S. Court Upholds Prison Term in Online Pharmacy Case
• U.S. Appeals Court Finds Registered Trade Mark Generic for Purposes of ACPA
• FCC VoIP Ruling Could Cost AT&T Billions
• Canadian Phone Companies Protest CRTC's VoIP Opinion
• Sex.com Dispute Finally Settles
• German Open Source Proponent Obtains Order Enforcing GNU General Public License
• U.S. Court of Appeals Overturns Decision on Disgruntled Homebuyer's Website
• Court Upholds Enforceability of Clickwrap Agreement that Was Accepted Under Protest
• Criminal Charges Filed for First Time under U.S. Spam Legislation

Home > Volume II > Issue 9: April 29, 2004 > U.S. Court of Appeals Overturns Decision on Disgruntled Homebuyer's Website

U.S. Court of Appeals Overturns Decision on Disgruntled Homebuyer's Website

The 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court decision in finding that the appellant Maxwell's actions did not violate the Lanham Act, the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA") or the Texas Anti-Dilution Statute. Maxwell registered an Internet domain name in order to tell the story of his problems in attempting to purchase a home from TMI Inc., which builds homes under the name TrendMaker Homes. Maxwell's Website, www.trendmaker.com, contained a disclaimer at the top of its home page to indicate that it was not TMI's site (www.trendmakerhomes.com). The Court of Appeals found that Maxwell's was a "gripe" website that did not violate the Lanham Act, which requires commercial use for liability, the ACPA, which requires bad faith intent to profit, or the Texas Anti-Dilution Act, which "is not intended to address non-trademark uses of a name to comment on, criticize, ridicule, etc."

For a copy of the decision, visit:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/5th/0320243cv0p.pdf