Calista Enterprises Complaint
Calista Enterprises Complaint
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 1 of 19
Page ID#: 1
Thomas Freedman Jr. (OSB No. 080697) [email protected] Pearl Law LLC 552 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 1100 Portland, Oregon 97204 Tel: (503) 295-6296 | Fax: (503) 295-6344 Valentin Gurvits (pro hac vice pending) [email protected] Matthew Shayefar (pro hac vice pending) [email protected] Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 Newton Centre, Massachusetts 02459 Tel: (617) 928-1800 | Fax: (617) 928-1802 Sean Ploen (pro hac vice pending) [email protected] Ploen Law Firm, PC 100 South Fifth Street, Suite 1900 Minneapolis, MN 55402 Tel: (651) 894-6800 | Fax: (651) 894-6801 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF OREGON PORTLAND DIVISION
CALISTA ENTERPRISES LTD., a Republic of Seychelles company, Plaintiff, - v. TENZA TRADING LTD., a Cyprus company, Defendant.
COMPLAINT For Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief and Trademark Cancellation DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff Calista Enterprises Ltd., by and through its undersigned counsel, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to establish that its registration and use of certain domain names listed herein is not unlawful, along with cancellation of Defendant Tenza Trading Ltd.s trademark registration.
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 2 of 19
Page ID#: 2
Introduction 1. This is a classic case of reverse domain name hijacking wherein the Defendant
seeks to misappropriate several Internet domains legitimately owned and operated by Plaintiff. 2. Plaintiff operates a number of Internet websites which drive users to porn tubes
(websites that offer streaming adult-content videos) operated by third parties. Each of Plaintiffs websites at issue in this case employ the generic and/or descriptive term porn tube in their Uniform Resource Locator domain name (e.g., largeporntube.com), and each of the websites uses the term as a generic and/or descriptive term for the services it provides. Specifically, Plaintiffs websites sort, categorize, and display links to various streaming videos hosted on third-party porn tubes, and direct the users to the pertinent porn tube when they select the particular videos they wish to view. 3. Plaintiff drives Internet traffic to many such porn tubes, typically in conjunction
with the porn tubes affiliate webmaster programs, for which such porn tubes pay Plaintiff. The third-party porn tubes depend on Plaintiff for a significant percentage of the users that visit their websites users that make the porn tubes profitable and, therefore, possible. Defendant is one such porn tube operator, and Plaintiff sends millions of users each month to Defendant. 4. After nearly two years of good dealings with Plaintiff, in early 2011, Defendant
approached Plaintiff and asked Plaintiff to join its affiliate program. Defendant wanted Plaintiff to start driving millions of Internet users from certain websites owned by Plaintiff (including Plaintiffs websites with the term porn tube included in their domain names) to Defendants website at Porntube.com (the Porntube.com Website). In return, Defendant promised to pay Plaintiff for its valuable service.
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 3 of 19
Page ID#: 3
5.
From 2011 through 2013, Plaintiff sent to the Porntube.com Website tens of
millions of visitors. Based in part upon these users, Defendant grew to be a multi-million dollar enterprise. In compensation for the valuable service that Plaintiff provided Defendant, Defendant paid Plaintiff at least $132,140 for the directed traffic during a period of at least 20 months. Defendant publicly recognized Plaintiff as one of its top contributors and even awarded Plaintiff a special prize in a competition Defendant put on for its affiliated webmasters. 6. After these years of an explicit, mutually-beneficial working relationship, in
March of 2013, Defendant decided to hijack Plaintiffs domains and filed an administrative proceeding against Plaintiff under the arbitration rules of the Uniform Domain-Name DisputeResolution Policy (UDRP), alleging that thirteen different porn tube domain names owned by Plaintiff infringed Defendants trademark right in the term PORNTUBE, for which a U.S. trademark registration had issued two years prior and which Defendant had never mentioned to Plaintiff in the pendency of their relationship. 7. In the UDRP proceeding, Defendant alleged that Plaintiffs domain names were
confusingly similar to the PORNTUBE trademark. Defendant also alleged that, despite the two years of service that Defendant requested and paid for, Plaintiff was not providing a bona fide service and that Defendant had registered and used the domain names in bad faith. In a 2-1 vote, the majority of the UDRP arbitration panel erroneously ordered that Plaintiffs domain registrations should be transferred to Defendant. 8. Attached hereto are the following filings from the UDRP proceeding: Exhibit A
is Defendants Complaint in Accordance with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, including all Annexes thereto (the Defendants UDRP Complaint); Exhibit B is Plaintiffs Response to Defendants UDRP Complaint, including all Annexes thereto (the
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected] Page 3 Plaintiffs Complaint
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 4 of 19
Page ID#: 4
Plaintiffs UDRP Response), Exhibit C is Defendants Submission of Other Written Statements and Documents, including all Annexes thereto, submitted in reply to Plaintiffs UDRP Response (the Defendants Supplemental Response); Exhibit D is Plaintiffs Submission of Other Written Statements and Documents in reply to Defendants Supplemental Response, including all Annexes thereto (the Plaintiffs Supplemental Response); and Exhibit E is the arbitration panels decision in the UDRP proceedings, erroneously finding that Plaintiffs domain registrations should be transferred to Defendant (hereinafter, the UDRP Decision). 9. Plaintiff now brings this action to prevent the wrongful transfer of its domains to
Defendant, for a declaratory judgment that Plaintiff is not infringing the trademark rights being asserted by Defendant, and for the cancellation of Defendants trademark registration at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Parties 10. Plaintiff Calista Enterprises Ltd. is a Republic of Seychelles company with a
business address at Global Gateway 1749, Rue de la Perle, Providence, Mahe Island, Seychelles. 11. On information and belief, Defendant Tenza Trading Ltd. is a Cyprus company
with a business address at Ioanni Stylianou 6, 2nd Floor, Flat 202, Nicosia 2002, Cyprus. Jurisdiction and Venue 12. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2201(a) and 2202, Plaintiff seeks a declaration and a
judgment regarding its rights and obligations in an actual controversy within this Courts jurisdiction concerning Plaintiffs rights in and to certain domain name registrations and in and to certain trademark rights allegedly owned by Defendant.
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 5 of 19
Page ID#: 5
13.
Subject matter jurisdiction exists in this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1331, giving
this Court original jurisdiction in a civil action raising a federal question, and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1338(a), the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. 1051, et seq.) and the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1125). Pendent jurisdiction exists over Plaintiffs state law claims. 14. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant because Defendant has
sufficient contacts with the State of Oregon and this judicial district subjecting it to the general and specific personal jurisdiction of this Court pursuant to Oregon Rule of Civil Procedure 4 and/or Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k)(2). Defendant has purposefully availed itself of this forum through general business presence and by demanding that Plaintiff cease use of certain domain names and transfer the registrations for same to Defendant. Moreover, Defendant consented to the personal jurisdiction of this Court when it filed its UDRP Complaint against Plaintiff pursuant to the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy. Defendants UDRP Complaint, p. 11. 15. Venue is proper in the District of Oregon pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391 because
the Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant and because a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to this Complaint occurred in this judicial district. Moreover, venue is proper in the District of Oregon because of Defendants voluntary submission to this Courts jurisdiction when it filed its UDRP Complaint against Plaintiff pursuant to the Uniform DomainName Dispute-Resolution Policy. Defendants UDRP Complaint, p. 11. \\ \\ \\
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected] Page 5 Plaintiffs Complaint
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 6 of 19
Page ID#: 6
Facts Plaintiff and the Domains 16. Plaintiff operates, under the trade name AlexZ Traffic, various adult-themed
websites which drive Internet traffic to certain third-party streaming video websites (the porn tubes). 17. Plaintiff gathers links to adult videos hosted by these porn tubes, and sorts,
categorizes and displays them for its users on its websites. 18. When a user visits one of Plaintiffs websites, he is presented with a variety of
adult-themed categories (e.g., Mature, Amateur, etc.), and when he selects one such category, he is presented with screenshots from a variety of videos hosted on the third-party porn tubes. 19. When a user selects one such screenshot, he is delivered to the website of the
third-party porn tube. 20. These third parties porn tubes have entered into arrangements with Plaintiff
wherein the porn tubes pay Plaintiff for driving users to their websites. 21. Plaintiff operates, inter alia, thirteen traffic driving websites whose domain names
and titles include the words porn tube as a generic and/or descriptive term. 22. These thirteen domain names are largeporntube.com, goldporntube.com,
kissporntube.com, boxporntube.com, pipeporntube.com, 69porntube.com, royalporntube.com, bookporntube.com, cubeporntube.com, freshporntube.com, lustporntube.com, bonusporntube.com and directporntube.com (the Domains).
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 7 of 19
Page ID#: 7
23.
Plaintiff registered the first of the Domains, freshporntube.com, on June 24, 2009,
and the last of the Domains, cubeporntube.com, on November 3, 2011. Defendants UDRP Complaint, Annex 2. 24. Since the registration of each of the Domains, Plaintiff has operated websites at
the Domains, each of which offer the above-described bona fide services to numerous third-party porn tubes. Plaintiffs UDRP Response, pp. 6-8. Defendant Invited Plaintiff to Drive Users to Defendant 25. One such porn tube that Plaintiff drives traffic to is the site operated at the domain
name porntube.com (the Porntube.com Website), which site is owned by Defendant. 26. On information and belief, the Porntube.com Website is operated by Defendants
agent and affiliate DreamStar Cash SL (DreamStar). Plaintiffs Supplemental Response, pp. 2-3. 27. entity. Id. 28. executive. Id. 29. On information and belief, Matthysen is also a beneficial owner, director and/or DreamStar was founded and is owned by Mr. Steve Matthysen, DreamStars chief On information and belief, DreamStar and Defendant operate as one and the same
executive of Defendant. Id. 30. On or about September 2, 2009, Matthysen contacted Plaintiff and asked Plaintiff
to start directing users from those of the Domains then owned by Defendant to one of DreamStars porn tubes, 4tube.com. Plaintiffs UDRP Response, pp. 11-12; Plaintiffs Supplemental Response, pp. 2-3.
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 8 of 19
Page ID#: 8
31.
webmaster program so that DreamStar could pay Plaintiff for Plaintiffs services. Id. 32. By June of 2010, Matthysen had singled out one of the Domains as being the top
referrer of users to DreamStars websites. Id. 33. On or about January 3, 2011, having specific knowledge of Plaintiffs registration
and use of the Domains, and based on the mutually-beneficial relationship the parties had developed, Matthysen invited Plaintiff to begin sending users to the Porntube.com Website. Id. The Successful Affiliation Between the Parties 34. From January 3, 2011 through March 28, 2013, Plaintiff and Defendant worked
together to successfully drive millions of users from the Domains to the Porntube.com Website. Plaintiffs UDRP Response, pp. 6-8. 35. Defendant depended on affiliates like Plaintiff to drive approximately 80% of its
users to the Porntube.com Website, and paid its affiliates (including Plaintiff) in aggregate an average of $80,000 per month for the approximately 48 million monthly visitors it received from the affiliates. Defendants UDRP Complaint, p. 8. 36. Plaintiff was responsible for driving approximately 8.25% of all of Defendants
affiliate traffic to the Porntube.com Website (accounting for up to 4 million visitors per month). Plaintiffs UDRP Response, p. 7. 37. In compensation for the large number of users that Plaintiff drove to the
Porntube.com Website, Defendant paid Plaintiff in excess of $132,140 over a period of about 20 months. Defendants UDRP Complaint, p. 8. 38. Defendant repeatedly and prominently recognized the valuable contribution that
Plaintiff and the Domains made to success of the Porntube.com Website by displaying the
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected] Page 8 Plaintiffs Complaint
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 9 of 19
Page ID#: 9
Domains on Defendants list of the most-effective referring domains to the Porntube.com Website. Plaintiffs UDRP Response, p. 12. 39. For example, in the month of June 2011, Defendant listed goldporntube.com, one
of the Domains, as the single most effective referring domain to the Porntube.com Website, after it referred 1,785,298 unique visitors. In that same month, twelve out of the top twenty-five referring domains for Porntube.com were among the Domains. Id. 40. In July of 2011, Defendant conducted a contest for its affiliates wherein it would
award an Apple iPad to each of three lottery winners. To receive lottery tickets, the affiliates needed to refer traffic to the Porntube.com Website; the more traffic they referred, the more lottery tickets they received and the better their chance of winning. Id. 41. Because Plaintiff was one of the highest-referring affiliates at this time, Plaintiff
won more lottery tickets than any of the other affiliates. On the strength of its referring numbers, Plaintiff won Defendants contest, was awarded one of the Apple iPads and was featured by name on the Porntube.com Website as a winner. Id. 42. For the foregoing reasons, among others, Defendant knew of, fostered,
encouraged, rewarded and profited from Plaintiffs services and from Plaintiffs registration and use of the Domains for over two years. Defendant Attempts the Reverse Hijacking of the Domains 43. On or about March 28, 2013, after approximately two years of successful
affiliation and without any warning to Plaintiff, Defendant filed a complaint against Plaintiff under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy to secure the transfer of the Domains from Plaintiff to Defendant. See Defendants UDRP Complaint, attached hereto as
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 10 of 19
Page ID#: 10
Exhibit A. The UDRP proceeding was conducted by the National Arbitration Forum (the NAF). 44. In the Defendants UDRP complaint, Defendant alleged that it owned the
exclusive rights to use of the trademark PORNTUBE, which rights it alleged Plaintiff was infringing with the registration and use of the Domains, and that despite the longstanding, successful relationship between the parties wherein Defendant paid Plaintiff for driving traffic to the Porntube.com Website, Plaintiff was not operating a bona fide service at the Domains but instead had registered and used the domains in bad faith. Id. 45. Prior to the filing of the Defendants UDRP Complaint, Plaintiff was unaware of
any dispute between the parties. 46. During the UDRP proceeding, Defendant engaged in bad faith arguments,
purposefully misleading the arbitrators about its long-lasting relationship with Plaintiff. See Defendants UDRP Complaint; Defendants Supplemental Response, attached hereto as Exhibit C. 47. Plaintiff responded to Defendants bad faith arguments and misrepresentations,
and showed that Defendant could not satisfy any of the factors necessary for it to prevail in the UDRP proceeding. See Plaintiffs UDRP Response, attached hereto as Exhibit B; Plaintiffs Supplemental Response, attached hereto as Exhibit D. 48. On June 11, 2013, the panel of three arbitrators issued a 2-1 decision directing
that the Domains should be transferred to Defendant. See UDRP Decision, attached hereto as Exhibit E. 49. Defendants serious and baseless accusations in the UDRP Complaint and
ancillary documents, and the UDRP Decision itself, establish an actual controversy between the
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected] Page 10 Plaintiffs Complaint
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 11 of 19
Page ID#: 11
parties, and thus Plaintiff requests that this Court grant declaratory, injunctive and affirmative relief in Plaintiffs favor. The Trademark Registration 50. On March 29, 2011, years after Plaintiff registered the first of the Domains and
years after Matthysen first engaged Plaintiff as an affiliate, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued Defendant a trademark registration for the mark PORNTUBE shown in standard characters, with no stylization or logo (the Putative Mark), registration number 3,936,197 (the Registration). UDRP Complaint, p. 3.1 51. Whatever the nature of the Putative Mark at the time of the issuance of the
Registration, in fact, the Putative Mark is now a generic term, is not capable of source identification, and is not distinctive. Plaintiffs UDRP Response, pp. 2-4. 52. Plaintiff, along with thousands of others in the adult entertainment industry, in the
mainstream media, and in the community of Internet users, uses the terms porn tube and porntube as generic and/or descriptive designations for websites that offer adult-themed streaming video content. Id. 53. The word porn is a common shortened form of the word pornography, and it
either names or merely describes the adult entertainment services recited in Defendants registration of the Trademark. Id.
Defendant, in its UDRP filings, indulges in a half-truth concerning the prosecution of this application: Defendant states that the registration was received without any objections from the corresponding Trademark Office, including any objection that the trademark was descriptive (Defendants UDRP Complaint, p. 4); in fact, the U.S. PTO oversaw an opposition to registration of Defendants mark, the partial basis of which was an allegation that Applicants Mark, when used in connection with the identified services, is merely descriptive, and Applicant has failed to prove acquired distinctiveness of its proposed mark. The objection was rendered moot when A pplicant and the opposer entered into a co-existence agreement under which both the PORNOTUBE and PORNTUBE marks received registrations. See TTAB Opposition Proceeding No. 91192320, Notice of Opposition, p. 3, 9. Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected] Page 11 Plaintiffs Complaint
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 12 of 19
Page ID#: 12
54.
The word tube historically served as an informal or slang term for television
and, since creation of and subsequent explosion in popularity of the website YouTube.com since 2005, tube has come into widespread and common use to refer to streaming video websites on the Internet. Id. 55. Defendants combination of the words porn and tube into the designation
porntube or porn tube is insufficient to render either word or the combined term capable of source-identifying significance. Id. 56. As a result of the descriptive and popular nature of the words porn and tube,
the terms porntube and porn tube have come into widespread and common usage to name and to describe websites such as those operated by Defendant and Plaintiff, so that such terms no longer identify a particular website or source of adult entertainment services (if in fact the terms ever did operate as source-identifiers), but instead name a particular type of site, i.e., a site where pornographic videos are offered for streaming. Id. 57. Defendant does not own and cannot rightfully claim exclusive rights to the
common words porn and tube, used separately or in combination, for use in a domain name, trademark or otherwise. 58. On or about April 10, 2013, Plaintiff filed a petition for cancellation of the
Registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, on grounds that the term porn tube is a generic designation for or is merely descriptive of the claimed services (the Petition for Cancellation). See Annex 1 to the UDRP Response.
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 13 of 19
Page ID#: 13
59.
The Petition for Cancellation remains active and pending at the Trademark Trial
and Appeal Board (the TTAB), which has assigned proceeding no. 92057048 to the proceeding. 60. On May 20, 2013, Defendant filed its answer to the Petition for Cancellation,
denying the generic and/or merely descriptive nature of the term porn tube. 61. Plaintiffs use of the terms porntube and porn tube in the Domains has not
and will not cause confusion with Defendants services offered under the Putative Mark. Plaintiffs UDRP Response, pp. 4-6. Defendants Activities That Create a Justiciable Controversy 62. On or about March 28, 2013, Defendant initiated the UDRP proceeding against
Plaintiff. See Defendants UDRP Complaint. 63. On June 11, 2013, the NAF issued its decision requiring the transfer of the
Domains to Defendant. See UDRP Decision. 64. to Defendant. 65. Defendants wrongfully-obtained Registration remains active even during the Plaintiff does not wish to transfer its rightfully-owned property (i.e., the Domains)
pendency of the Petition for Cancellation at the TTAB. 66. Defendants actions show a clear intent to use any means necessary to obtain the
Domains, including litigation. Thus, an actual, substantial and immediate controversy exists, justifying the declaratory relief that Plaintiff seeks. \\ \\ \\
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected] Page 13 Plaintiffs Complaint
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 14 of 19
Page ID#: 14
Count I Declaratory and Injunctive Relief Pursuant to the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1125(2)(D)(5)) 67. Plaintiff repeats, re-alleges and incorporates each and every allegation listed in the
preceding paragraphs. 68. Plaintiff rightfully registered the Domains in good faith, and with no intent to sell
the Domains to Defendant or otherwise to cause harm or show bad faith toward Defendant. 69. 70. 71. Defendant has no legally cognizable trademark rights in the Putative Mark. The Domains are not confusingly similar to the Putative Mark. Plaintiff has no intention of confusing any of Defendants customers or diverting
any traffic intended for Defendant from the Porntube.com Website. 72. Plaintiff believed and had reasonable grounds to believe that its registration and
use of the Domains was and is lawful. 73. 74. 75. Plaintiff has offered bona fide services through the Domains. Plaintiff is commonly known by the Domains. For at least two years, Defendant knew of, fostered, encouraged, rewarded and
profited from Plaintiffs use of the Domains. 76. Plaintiff has notified Defendant of its intent to file a civil action to establish that
its registration and use of the Domains are lawful. See Declaration of Matthew Shayefar, attached hereto as Exhibit F, 5. 77. The domain name registrar for the Domains, Moniker Online Services, LLC, has
locked the transfer and updating of the Domains by Plaintiff and, pursuant to the UDRP decision and absent the initiation of this civil action and a resolution of this matter in favor of Plaintiff, will transfer the Domains imminently to Defendant.
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected] Page 14 Plaintiffs Complaint
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 15 of 19
Page ID#: 15
78.
Plaintiff has no other prompt and expeditious remedy to protect its interest and to
prevent it from irreparable harm. 79. To resolve this actual controversy, Plaintiff seeks a declaration establishing that
its registration and use of the Domains are lawful and injunctive relief prohibiting the transfer of the Domains to Defendant. Count II Declaration of Non-Infringement of Trademark 80. Plaintiff repeats, re-alleges and incorporates each and every allegation listed in the
preceding paragraphs. 81. Based on the facts set forth above, an actual controversy has arisen and now exists
between Plaintiff and Defendant regarding the issue of whether Plaintiffs use of the term porn tube in the Domains and on the websites available thereon infringes Defendants claimed rights in the Putative Mark, in violation of the Lanham Act or other applicable law. 82. 83. Plaintiff denies Defendants allegations. Absent a resolution of this matter, Plaintiff will be uncertain as to whether its
continued use of the term porn tube exposes Plaintiff to liability. 84. Plaintiff has no other prompt and expeditious remedy to protect its interest and to
prevent it from irreparable harm. 85. Under the circumstances, a judicial declaration is necessary and appropriate at this
time in order that Plaintiff may determine its rights and duties under the Lanham Act or other applicable law and the facts of this case. \\ \\
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 16 of 19
Page ID#: 16
Count III Declaration of No Unfair Competition 86. Plaintiff repeats, re-alleges and incorporates each and every allegation listed in the
preceding paragraphs. 87. Based on the facts set forth in the foregoing allegations, an actual controversy has
arisen and now exists between Plaintiff and Defendant regarding the issue of whether Plaintiffs use of the term porn tube in the Domains and on the websites available thereon constitutes unfair competition under the Lanham Act or other applicable law. 88. 89. Plaintiff denies Defendants allegations. Absent a resolution of this matter, Plaintiff will be uncertain as to whether its
continued use of the term porn tube exposes Plaintiff to liability. 90. Plaintiff has no other prompt and expeditious remedy to protect its interest, and to
prevent it from irreparable harm. 91. Under the circumstances, a judicial declaration is necessary and appropriate at this
time in order that Plaintiff may determine its rights and duties with respect to competition under the Lanham Act or other applicable law and the facts of this case. Count IV Cancellation of Trademark Registration Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1119 92. Plaintiff repeats, re-alleges and incorporates each and every allegation listed in the
preceding paragraphs. 93. The Putative Mark does not possess source-identifying capacity and lacks all
distinctiveness with regards to the services recited in the subject registration, due to the term PORNTUBE having become substantially synonymous with and a generic designation for such services amongst the consuming public, within Defendants industry, and elsewhere.
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected] Page 16 Plaintiffs Complaint
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 17 of 19
Page ID#: 17
94.
In the alternative, the Putative Mark merely describes Defendants services and
has not in fact acquired distinctiveness as a source indicator for Defendant within the requirements of the Lanham Act. 95. Under the circumstances, a judicial determination ordering the cancellation of the
Registration is necessary and appropriate at this time on grounds that the mark shown in the Registration is generic or merely descriptive when used in connection with the services recited in therein. JURY DEMAND 96. Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all claims so triable. REQUESTED RELIEF WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays that this honorable Court perform the following actions: (i) (ii) Enter judgment for Plaintiff on all Counts of its Complaint; Enter a declaration that Plaintiffs use of the terms porn tube and porntube
does not infringe the trademark rights asserted by Defendant in the Putative Mark, and further declaring that Plaintiff and others are free to use such terms (and any terms substantially similar thereto) without restriction by Defendant; (iii) Enter a declaration that Plaintiffs use of the terms porn tube and porntube
does not amount to unfair competition and that Plaintiff and others are free to use such terms (and any terms substantially similar thereto) without restriction by Defendant; (iv) Enter a declaration that Plaintiff registered and has used the Domains in good
faith, is the rightful registrant of the Domains, and has used the Domains in conjunction with the offering of a bona fide service;
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 18 of 19
Page ID#: 18
(v)
use and registration of the Domains, including placing the Domains on locked status, cancelling the registrations for the Domains, transferring the registrations for the Domains, or otherwise disturbing Plaintiffs lawfully-obtained Domains; (vi) Issue a permanent injunction to enjoin Moniker Online Services, LLC and the
National Arbitration Forum from transferring the registrations for the Domains to Defendant; (vii) Registration; (viii) Award Plaintiff monetary compensation in an amount to be determined at trial for Order the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the
damages sustained by Plaintiff as a result of Defendants wrongful actions as alleged herein, including for attorneys fees and costs as provided by law; and (ix) Award such other and further relief, whether legal or equitable, as the Court may
deem just and proper. Dated: June 21, 2013 Respectfully Submitted, Plaintiff Calista Enterprises Ltd. By its Attorneys, /s/ Val Gurvits Valentin Gurvits (pro hac vice pending) Matthew Shayefar (pro hac vice pending) Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 Newton Centre, Massachusetts 02459 Tel: (617) 928-1800 Fax: (617) 928-1802 [email protected] [email protected]
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]
Case 3:13-cv-01045-SI
Document 1
Filed 06/21/13
Page 19 of 19
Page ID#: 19
/s/ Thomas Freedman Jr. Thomas Freedman Jr. (OSB No. 080697) Pearl Law LLC 552 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 1100 Portland, Oregon 97204 Tel: (503) 295-6296 Fax: (503) 295-6344 [email protected]
/s/ Sean Ploen Sean Ploen (pro hac vice pending) Ploen Law Firm, PC 100 South Fifth Street, Suite 1900 Minneapolis, MN 55402 Tel: (651) 894-6800 Fax: (651) 894-6801 [email protected]
Val Gurvits | Matthew Shayefar | Boston Law Group, PC 825 Beacon Street, Suite 20 | Newton Centre, MA 02459 617-928-1800 | [email protected] | [email protected]