Microsoft v. Shah
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Microsoft Corp. v. Shah was an
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) case heard before the
United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Microsoft sued the
defendants, Amish Shah and others, for, amongst other charges,
contributory cybersquatting for encouraging others, through videos and software, to infringe on Microsoft's
trademarks. The case was settled out of court in July 2011 after judge
Ricardo S. Martinez denied Shah's motion for dismissal.
[1] Legal observers suggested that, if upheld, the case would prove notable for the court's expansion of the ACPA liability to include contributory cybersquatting.
[2][3][
Amish Shah, with help from the other defendants, registered domain names containing Microsoft trademarks, and induced others to register similar domains. Some of these domains used possible misspellings of trademarked Microsoft names.[5] Consumers seeking Microsoft products could mistakenly end up at the defendants' website and be tricked into downloading the defendants' products. In addition to
cybersquatting, the defendants also produced instructions (including a video) on how to use Microsoft's marks in a misleading manner to maximize traffic to the website. Shah also offered a software system that enabled buyers to easily create websites incorporating Microsoft's marks.
On the basis of the latter, Microsoft made claims for
contributory cybersquatting and contributory
trademark dilution, in addition to cybersquatting, trademark dilution, and
trademark infringement. Defendants moved to dismiss the claims for contributory cybersquatting and contributory dilution, arguing that such causes of action are not recognized under law. The ACPA created liability only for registering, trafficking, or using a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to a protected mark. Additionally, the ACPA required proof that the defendant acted with "bad faith with intent to profit from the mark."
[6]
Opinion of the Court
Judge Ricardo Martinez decided against dismissal on January 12, 2011, affirming that Microsoft had a possible case against Shah
