Amended Lawsuit Against Moniker — Transamerica Files

Transamerica’s lawyers get a quick education in how the domain name ecosystem works.

Life insurance firm Transamerica has amended its lawsuit against Moniker, Oversee.net, and many John Does for trademark infringement.

The original lawsuit claimed that Moniker used fictitious entities to register trademark-infringing domain names on its own behalf. It frequently used quotes to refer to Moniker’s “clientele” and “clients”, as Transamerica alleged they were really just Moniker in disguise. But the lawsuit had many obvious holes, such as suggesting that Ultimate Search was one of Moniker’s non-existent registrants. (Ultimate Search was sold to Marchex earlier this decade.)

The amended complaint instead alleges Moniker enables clients to hide their identity and to continue to violate the cybersquatting act. It alleges Moniker works in “collaboration with a group of fictitious entities and anonymous individuals in the registration and use of Internet domain names incorporating and imitating registered trademarks and services marks”.

Among the changes in the amended complaint:

-Adds John Doe defendants Jan Stroh, Jayme Young, Omgi Media, Ron Oron, and Swallowlane Holdings Ltd

-Changes parties from saying “‘Moniker Privacy Services, Inc’ is a fictitious entity employed by Defendants as a so-called “proxy” to conceal the ownership of Internet domain names and web sites owned in whole or part and used by Moniker” to

“On information and belief, “Moniker Privacy Services, LLC.” is a Delaware limited liability firm formed in June 2008.”

-Drops claims that “Net41 Media is a shell firm set up by Moniker independently or in collaboration with one or more Doe defendants”

-Drops claim that “each Defendant was the proxy, alter ego, alias, agent, servant, employee, partner, parent, subsidiary, or joint venturer, of Moniker in respect to some or all of the unlawful conduct alleged in this Complaint”

-Changes from alleging Moniker owns and uses domains to say it is “enabling a class of clients comprised of fictitious entities and anonymous individuals to “monetize” counterfeit domain names…”

A copy of the amended complaint is available here (sizable pdf document).