Dealers Head to Court over Domain Names — California Car
Ford dealer claims rival is stealing its web traffic.
Two neighboring car dealers in California are heading to court over cybersquatting claims.
El Centro, California Ford dealer El Centro Motors alleges (pdf) that Rogers & Rogers, a Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealer on the same road less than a half mile away, is cybersquatting its brands and diverting web traffic.
El Centro Motors registered ElCentroMotors.com in 2001. Rogers & Rogers registered ElCentroMotor.com (singular) and ElCentroFord.com last year. As stated by the suit, both domain names forwarded to sites owned by Rogers & Rogers.
The suit was filed yesterday, but it appears Rogers & Rogers by now transferred ElCentroFord.com to Ford on or ahead of October 13. ElCentroMotor.com still forwards to Rogers & Rogers’ website.
El Centro Motors is asking for an injunction against Rogers & Rogers, plus $100,000 per domain name.
