Someone registered NoLabels.com to confuse people looking for the No Labels political party.
The “real” No Labels (top) and NoLabels.com (bottom).
A centrist U.S. political party that wants to fight divisive political culture has sued an organization that it says is mimicking it.
No Labels filed the lawsuit (pdf) against NoLabels.com, Inc. The defendant is a newly-incorporated company that uses the domain name nolabels.COM, which it appears to have purchased from another registrant earlier this year. The political party uses nolabels.ORG.
The .com website includes some content similar to what the political party espouses but also includes content contrary to the party’s positions. It does not appear to be a parody or satire site, and it’s unclear who is behind it. The company that owns the domain has purchased Google Ads to bring people to the site.
Notably, nolabels.com features images of candidates, such as Donald Trump, that No Labels is actively opposed to. The party hopes to add a third-party Unity Ticket for the upcoming presidential election.
In the lawsuit, No Labels states:
To be clear, No Labels does not object to third parties referencing No Labels when commenting on No Labels’ positions or candidates. Nor does No Labels seek to stifle free political discussion or competing points of view. Indeed, No Labels’ own website encourages “robust debate on the many issues confronting our country” and the organization “understand[s] that politics is often rough and tumble.”
What Defendant cannot do, however, is use the No Labels Registered Trademark, and language and imagery evocative of the legitimate No Labels Website, to attract Internet traffic to an Infringing Website that is designed to mislead and confuse the public, including voters and donors, in order to harm No Labels.
…
Although No Labels’ objection to Defendant’s Infringing Website is not based on the specific candidates currently displayed on the Infringing Website—indeed, No Labels would object to candidates from either end of the political spectrum being falsely associated with No Labels – the Infringing Website includes candidates that No Labels is explicitly not supporting.
Specifically, the Infringing Website prominently features a large photograph of former President Donald Trump on its landing page. The Infringing Website also includes a photograph of Tyson Draper, with a caption falsely describing Mr. Draper as a “No Labels U.S. Senate Candidate.”
No Labels is asking the court to transfer the .com domain name and to find monetary damages against NoLabels.com Inc.
Post link: No Labels political party files cybersquatting lawsuit
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