Microsoft sues over misleading domains
Microsoft and MSNBC sue three Los Angeles County residents for allegedly registering Internet domain names similar to their own, potentially leading users to the wrong Web sites.
Microsoft and MSNBC, a joint venture of Microsoft, General Electric, and GE's National Broadcasting, claim the defendants purposely registered names such as "misrosoft.com" and "mnsbc.com" to confuse anyone searching for "microsoft.com" and "msnbc.com." The misspelled domain names lead to Web sites containing links to pornographic sites, according to a federal suit filed yesterday in Los Angeles.
Microsoft is using lawsuits to protect its Internet domain name; the company settled a similar suit in Texas earlier this year. The latest suit, which names as defendants Zvieli Fisher, M. Zvieli, Ed Fisher, 37.com, 800GO.com, and others, seeks unspecified damages and a court order preventing the defendants from continuing to infringe on Microsoft's and MSNBC's trademarks.
"We are being aggressive about this because we think customers should be able to find content they are looking for on the Web without being purposely misled," Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn said.
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