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.
HAMPTONS ONLINE LLC v. ROBERT M. FLORIO, ET AL.
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK (CENTRAL ISLIP)
2:10-CV-01865
FILED: 4/27/2010
This lawsuit has a lot more to it than just the alleged defamation. There are also extensive allegations of intellectual property infringement and misappropriation. The best practice for a business owner is to make sure that all of your employees understand that nothing disparaging should be published about a competitor unless you are willing to invest heavily in defending your business in court. Negative information can be tactfully and lawfully communicated and savvy businesses know how to do it.
Plaintiff Hamptons Online is a website design and development company that owns and operates an award-winning online publication that covers the Hamptons. At least one individual Defendant, a disgruntled employee, published anonymous comments on the Plaintiff’s website disparaging the quality of articles that were being published. The employee was terminated, went to work for a competitor, and continued to allegedly publish, through emails and otherwise, defamatory comments about the Plaintiff.
Claims in the complaint include copyright infringement, contributory and/or vicarious copyright infringement, misappropriation and conversion of proprietary source code and trade secrets, libel/libel per se/defamation by implication, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of duty of loyalty, conversion, accounting, and breach of contract. Plaintiff requests preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, actual damages, compensatory damages, statutory damages, punitive and exemplary damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and any further relief the Court deems just and proper. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1421.
KETTERING UNIVERSITY v. KURT JOERGER
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN (DETROIT)
2:10-CV-11634
FILED: 4/22/2010
The Defendant’s website is apparently coming up high in organic results when Kettering University is searched. This case is a good reminder to make sure that your business has acquired the key domain names to protect itself. Remember that Google gives various degrees of authority to web pages depending, in part, on the domain name. You should own the .net of your name, and don’t forget the hyphen between any two words since Google ignores hyphens.
Kettering University is a university located in Michigan. The Defendant is alleged to have acquired the “ketteringuniversity.net” domain name and launched a website that contains false and defamatory information about the university.
Kettering University alleges trademark infringement, false designation of origin and dilution, unfair competition, cybersquatting, state and common law unfair competition, state common law palming off, business defamation, and breach of fiduciary duty. Plaintiff requests extensive preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, statutory damages, all damages directly or proximately caused by actions of Defendant, and costs, interest, and attorney fees. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1423.
