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.
JK HARRIS & COMPANY, LLC v. DOMAINS BY PROXY, INC. AND JOHN DOE
DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA (CHARLESTON)
2:09-CV-01547
FILED: 6/11/2009
Another example of the use of defamation, or apparent defamation based upon the allegations, by a competitor for commercial purposes. The argument coming from the Defendants will likely be that the use is “fair use” and raise other free speech defenses. This is an arena of extremely involved and complex law and the crafting of solutions when faced with a problem like this requires expertise.
JK Harris is a company organized and existing under the laws of South Carolina. It is the nation’s largest tax representation company. The Defendant is unknown. The lawsuit alleges that the Defendant is running an ad on the MSN search engine with the text “JK Harris- A Scam?” The ad leads to a website that contains allegedly false information about JK Harris and directs the traffic to a competing tax preparation service.
The lawsuit alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, cybersquatting, trademark dilution, unfair trade practices, intentional interference with prospective contractual relations, common law trade disparagement (defamation), and common law defamation. The Plaintiff has requested that the court enter permanent injunctive relief, award compensatory damages, the transfer of the domain name, and award punitive damages, statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, as well as restitution and the imposition of a constructive trust. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1333.
