Stanford Financial Group in two trademark disputes
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| Published on Monday, December 22, 2008 |
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By Tricia N Henry
Caribbean Net News Staff Reporter
Email: tricia@caribbeannetnews.com
MIAMI, USA: According to financial newsletter OffshoreAlert, the Stanford Group, led by Texas billionaire, R Allen Stanford has become involved as both a plaintiff and a defendant in two trademark disputes at federal court in San Francisco. Stanford is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda and has extensive investments throughout the Caribbean, in addition to being a major financial sponsor of West Indies cricket.
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| Allen Stanford. AFP PHOTO |
The report stated that the Group has entered one dispute as a defendant in an action brought against it by the prestigious Stanford University and the other as a plaintiff in an action against the unknown operator of an apparent advance-fee fraud.
According to OffshoreAlert, “The first complaint was filed on October 29, 2008 by The Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University, a non-profit corporation based in Stanford, California, against Stanford Financial Group Company, a Florida corporation, and Stanford Group Company, a Texas corporation, for trademark and trade dress infringement, trademark trade dress dilution, unfair competition, and cancellation of federal trademark registration”.
It was claimed that the Stanford Group's use of the Stanford Mark and Stanford Trade Dress to promote its financial services represented "intentional and bad faith conduct" and was “causing confusion in the marketplace to the detriment of Stanford University”.
Stanford Group has used the trademark and trade dress through a variety of publicity measures, including the sponsorship of sporting and athletic events, in newspapers such as the New York Times, and on television; appearance on lines of clothing, including among other things T-shirts, sweatshirts, pants, shorts and sweatbands; and the registration of the Stanford Financial Group trademark and the current attempted registration of trademarks such as Stanford, Stanford Private Wealth Management, Stanford 20/20, Stanford 20*20 Super Stars Tournament, and Stanford 20*20 Legends Beach Cricket.
It is reported that the Stanford Group has applied to dismiss some of the claims on the grounds of jurisdiction and to stay the remainder pending the resolution of ongoing litigation before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Meanwhile, the Stanford Financial Group itself filed a complaint on November 26, 2008, against StanfordFinancial.net, alleging cyberpiracy.
According to the complaint, on October 24, 2008, "an entity unrelated to Plaintiff named ‘Stanford Financial’ (Registrant) reserved the domain name stanfordfinancial.net and established a web-site in which it identifies itself as ‘Stanford Financial Group’ and, inter alia, offers loans to the public for which it solicits up-front fees”.
"On information and belief, Registrant has on repeated occasions promised loans to individual members of the public who have contacted Registrant through stanfordfinancial.net and has demanded and received up-front payments from such individuals for such promised ‘loans’; but has not, in fact, made such loans, resulting in such individuals being defrauded of their money," it was claimed.
The Stanford Group now claims that its reputation was being “severely damaged” as a result of the fraud scheme as individuals who have been defrauded their money have approached the Stanford Financial Group to demand they “make such loans that were promised by Registrant”.
According to the OffshoreAlert report, the complaint stated that the operators of the site have not responded to correspondence sent by the plaintiff asking that it cease its conduct.
Stanford Financial Group Company is seeking an order that the domain name stanfordfinancial.net “is being used in bad faith with the intent to profit from Plaintiff's US trademark", and is seeking to permanently transfer the domain name to the plaintiff.
Meanwhile, US District Chief Judge Vaughn R Walker has issued a temporary order that the domain name be transferred to the authority of the court, that the domain name registrar "shall disable and close operation" of the domain name and that the defendant shall cease operating the domain name.
OffshoreAlert’s investigations revealed that the web-site linked to the domain name is now off-line. | | | | Reads : 1713 | | | |
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