@ashleymadison Sues “Gripe Site” AshleyMadisonSucks.com Because It’s “Confusingly Similar”

Quick Bar Study Break – Ashley Trashy Madison has sued the owners of AshleyMadisonSucks.com and AshleyMadisonScam.com for $75,000 each on the grounds that they have infringed their trademark.  Trashy Madison claims that the sites are “confusingly similar.”

Now, I’m no trademark law scholar, but I have taken trademark and I know that “gripe sites” generally are okay, especially when they have a noncommercial purpose.  But don’t take it from me, just see what the Las Vegas Trademark Attorney has to say about it:

I don’t know how Canadian courts handle this kind of case up north, but down here, we would call this a pretty strong example of a) non-commercial, fair use of a party’s trademark and b) using allegations of trademark infringement in a lawsuit to quash the lawful exercise of free speech.

Of course, is it really no surprise that a company whose entire business model is established around encouraging extra-marital affairs would resort to a such a questionable course of action in order to obtain possession of some gripe website domain names (and removing some criticism of its services at the same time).

Hmm…I know from first-hand experience that Trashy Madison doesn’t like it when people speak out against them…

Sources: Las Vegas Trademark Attorney and Courthouse News Service