JustAnswer > Intellectual Property Law
Ask A Question|Register|Login|Help
JustAnswer

Intellectual Property Law

Ask an Intellectual Property Law Question, Get an Answer ASAP!

Have your own Intellectual Property Law question?

7 IP Lawyers are Online Now
characters left:
Not an Intellectual Property Law Question?

Related Intellectual Property Law Topics:

  • Law
  • ,
  • Sue
  • ,
  • Two
  • ,
  • Owns
  • ,
  • Forum
  • ,
  • Issue
  • ,
  • Legal
  • ,
  • Right
  • ,
  • Trade
  • ,
  • Letter
Bookmark and Share

Question

Citizens Bank's site (http://www.citizensbank-texas.com/) has been illegally copied by an apparent Phishing operation, Hancock Trust Finance (http://ht-fin.net/about-citizens-bank.asp.htm). To avoid confusion, we seek to eliminate HTF's use of the Citizens Bank design.

How can we accomplish this?

Submitted: 163 days and 1 hours ago.
Category: Intellectual Property Law
Value: $45
Status: CLOSED

Accepted Answer

You can send a cease and desist letter, and you can sue under the Berne Convention for copyright infringement, and for common law trade dress infringement. But, unless you actually own the exclusive rights to the photos, I think that you will be unable to prevail on either count, because the two sites are not substantially the same for copyright purposes, and as far as trade dress goes, if you had shown me both websites, I would not have been caused to believe that the same business owns both sites. So, I don't think that there is sufficient likelihood of confusion to make out a very convincing case.

 

But, that's just me.

 

More than likely, you'll have to sue in the BVI, because the defendant's assets are located there..

 

Hope this helps.

 

Terms and Conditions: By your continuing in this conversation with me, or by your clicking “Accept”, you are expressly agreeing to all of the following: (1) our communication is for entertainment purposes only; (2) you are not consulting me in my professional capacity as an attorney; (3) you do not seek to establish an attorney-client relationship with me, nor do I with you; (4) you will not rely on anything I say and you will obtain appropriate legal counsel via a traditional/office consultation with an attorney licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where your legal issue arises (and you may not use our communication to avoid taxpayer penalties imposed by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury); (5) by communicating with me in this public forum you are irrevocably waiving any right to privacy, confidentiality and attorney-client privilege concerning the matters discussed. You further separately declare that any payment made by you is not consideration for this contract, nor offered for any services rendered by me on your behalf, but rather is made in genuine admiration and respect for my desire to help others. If you do not agree with these terms and conditions, then you must advise me immediately.

 

Picture
Expert: socrateaser
Pos. Feedback: 100.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 6/11/2009

Lawyer

Retired (mostly)

Related Intellectual Property Law Questions

  • If my husband is being sued as an individual can they also
  • we see a lot of replica jewelry, handbags, etc. with referen...
  • I came across a website in China that offered to sell me Kaw...
  • I recently recieved a letter from a company stating that I
  • Pablo is a painter who works on neighborhood projects and us...
  • If I have a new design of a product to be manufacture, how
  • I was working for a company and designed a product. After
  • A previous client of ours has copied our business model near...



Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.
Question List | Become an Expert | Terms of Service | Security & Privacy | About Us
© 2003-2009 JustAnswer Corp.