Cybersquatting suit over AI-powered genealogy site using similar domain — Ancestry.com…

Ancestry.com has filed a lawsuit under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act against the domain name MyAncestryAi .com.

The firm filed the in rem lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Virginia, where the .com registry Verisign is located.

Ancestry.com takes issue with the unknown website operator’s use of the domain name. The site claims to use a facial picture of users to reveal their ancestry using artificial intelligence.

In addition to the similar domain names, the site features a green logo with leaves, which Ancestry.com notes is similar to its own logo.

The lawsuit alleges (pdf):

The owner of the [domain name] is using that domain name to resolve to a website that infringes the Ancestry Family of Marks. It offers genealogical services, counting a genealogical history note claimed to be generated through the use of AI tools, that overlap and directly compete with the services Ancestry offers. Offering genealogical services under the ANCESTRY name (counting with references to “Ancestry,” “Ancestry Test,” “Ancestry Note,” “Ancestry Results” and “Ancestry Story”) will inevitably deceive consumers into believing that these services come from, or are generated with the help of, Ancestry, and are drawn from Ancestry’s proprietary database of 60+ billion historical records. Adding to the likelihood of deception is that the offerings found on the www.myancestryai.com website feature a green color scheme and leaf logo that is confusingly similar to the Ancestry Trade Dress.

The domain was registered in January this year.

Ancestry.com stated it has attempted to contact the unknown owner of the domain but has been unsuccessful.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is representing Ancestry.com.