Candy Co. Sues Fargo Woman Over Web Site

[companyone]

Hi,

Candy Co. Sues Fargo Woman Over Web Site

(AP) Fargo, N.D. A Red River Valley candy company known for its chocolate-covered potato chips says a woman is using the Internet to steal profits by confusing consumers.

Widman's Candy Co., which has stores in Fargo, Grand Forks and Crookston, Minn., filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Jacqueline Knutson of Fargo and Cafe Chocolat, alleging that Knutson is violating Widman's trademark rights.

The complaint said Knutson has registered domain names "identical or confusingly similar" to the Widman's Web address. The practice, known as "cybersquatting," is illegal, the complaint said.

Knutson did not return phone messages left Monday at Cafe Chocolat.

Knutson's Web site "purports to represent a direct connection with the Widman family, going so far as to depict a picture of the original family store" in Grand Forks, the complaint said.

The lawsuit also alleges that Knutson has attempted to register the name "Chippers," the name Widman's uses for its chocolate-covered potato chips.

Widman's is seeking unspecified damages and a temporary restraining order to prevent Knutson from using names that may confuse consumers with the Widman's site.

The Widman's Web address is carolwidmanscand .com. The complaint lists Knutson's addresses as windmanscandy .com; widmans-candy .com; and widmanschocolate. com.

Knutson ignored "requests and demands" to transfer all domain names associated with the Widman family, the complaint said.

A note on the Widman's Web site reads, "Any other store in FARGO that bears a like name on the internet is neither owned nor associated with the Widman family or our quality of product. Do not let imitations fool you!"

Source

Best,
Dan

[DNQuest.com]

I hate to say this, but I would love for them to make an example of her.

[Dave Zan]

Widmans-candy is the one registered to that lady. But the other 2 (as of this
post) have "interesting" details:

Domain Name: windmanscandy.com

Registrant
------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Admin -
Organization: Maltuzi LLC
Email: adminmaltuzi.com
Address: 800 West El Camino Real Suite 180
City, Province, Post Code: Mountain View, CA, 94040
Country: US
Phone: 1.6508146730

Admin Contact
------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Admin -
Organization: Maltuzi LLC
Email: adminmaltuzi.com
Address: 800 West El Camino Real Suite 180
City, Province, Post Code: Mountain View, CA, 94040
Country: US
Phone: 1.6508146730

Billing Contact
------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Admin -
Organization: Maltuzi LLC
Email: adminmaltuzi.com
Address: 800 West El Camino Real Suite 180
City, Province, Post Code: Mountain View, CA, 94040
Country: US
Phone: 1.6508146730

Tech Contact
------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Admin -
Organization: Maltuzi LLC
Email: adminmaltuzi.com
Address: 800 West El Camino Real Suite 180
City, Province, Post Code: Mountain View, CA, 94040
Country: US
Phone: 1.6508146730

Creation Date: 02/06/07
Expiration Date: 02/06/08
Domain Status:

Domain servers
ns1.maltuzi.com
ns11.maltuzi.com

Registration Provided By: NAME KING INC.
Contact: infonameking.com
Abuse Desk Email Address: abusenameking.com

Request 18/20
.com registry whois lookup (whois.crsnic.net)

Domain Name: WINDMANSCANDY.COM
Registrar: NAMEKING.COM, INC.
Whois server: whois.nameking.com
Referral URL: http://www.nameking.com
Name Server: NS1.MALTUZI.COM
Name Server: NS11.MALTUZI.COM
Status: ok
Updated Date: 06-feb-2007
Creation Date: 06-feb-2007
Expiration Date: 06-feb-2008

Domain Name: widmanschocolate.com

Registrant
------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Admin -
Organization: Maltuzi LLC
Email: adminmaltuzi.com
Address: 800 West El Camino Real Suite 180
City, Province, Post Code: Mountain View, CA, 94040
Country: US
Phone: 1.6508146730

Admin Contact
------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Admin -
Organization: Maltuzi LLC
Email: adminmaltuzi.com
Address: 800 West El Camino Real Suite 180
City, Province, Post Code: Mountain View, CA, 94040
Country: US
Phone: 1.6508146730

Billing Contact
------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Admin -
Organization: Maltuzi LLC
Email: adminmaltuzi.com
Address: 800 West El Camino Real Suite 180
City, Province, Post Code: Mountain View, CA, 94040
Country: US
Phone: 1.6508146730

Tech Contact
------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Admin -
Organization: Maltuzi LLC
Email: adminmaltuzi.com
Address: 800 West El Camino Real Suite 180
City, Province, Post Code: Mountain View, CA, 94040
Country: US
Phone: 1.6508146730

Creation Date: 02/06/07
Expiration Date: 02/06/08
Domain Status:

Domain Servers
ns1.maltuzi.com
ns11.maltuzi.com

Registration Provided By: NAME KING INC.
Contact: infonameking.com
Abuse Desk Email Address: abusenameking.com

Request 18/20
.com registry whois lookup (whois.crsnic.net)

Domain Name: WIDMANSCHOCOLATE.COM
Registrar: NAMEKING.COM, INC.
Whois Server: whois.nameking.com
Referral URL: http://www.nameking.com
Name Server: NS1.MALTUZI.COM
Name Server: NS11.MALTUZI.COM
Status: ok
Updated Date: 06-feb-2007
Creation Date: 06-feb-2007
Expiration Date: 06-feb-2008

[think]

I've had the chips myself and they are pretty tasty

[DNQuest.com]

If you look at the dates, they are dated today. So the woman moved them somehow. Wonder if she realizes that getting rid of TMed domains does not release her from liability.