US Appeals Court Rules In Favour Of Consumers Over Protest Websites

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

07 April 2005

Following a recent ruling delivered by the Ninth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals in California, protest sites launched by disgruntled consumers which contain corporate trademarks have been given a new lease of life.

The US appeals court was ruling on the case of Michael Kremer, who launched the sites Bosleymedical.com and Bosleymedicalviolations.com in protest at the treatment that he had received from the firm of the same name.

The court found that Mr Kremer had not infringed Bosley's trademark because his websites were of a non-commercial nature.

This ruling (assuming that it is not reversed by the Supreme Court) is likely to cause problems for the World Intellectual Property Organisation, which has traditionally found in favour of companies in such cases.

Although the international body does not allow appeals in such matters, and will therefore not reverse earlier decisions, it will be obliged to take account of US national law in dealing with future disputes involving American defendants. This means that it will either be forced to ignore its own case law, or to go against the decision handed down by the US appeals court.

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