Fagnelli Plumbing Co. v. Gillece Plumbing and Heating, Inc.
United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
98 U.S.P.Q.2d 1997 (2011)
Fagnelli Plumbing Company (plaintiff) and Gillece Plumbing and Heating (defendant) were competitors; Fagnelli had operated under its name for over 50 years and used the domain fagnelliplumbing.com since 2000. In 2007, Gillece bought the domain fagnelli.com and set it up to automatically redirect visitors to Gillece's own website. Gillece had also registered nearly 100 other domains resembling the names of competing plumbing companies. Fagnelli sued under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and moved for summary judgment.
Whether a defendant violates the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act by registering a domain name confusingly similar to the plaintiff's distinctive mark with a bad-faith intent to profit.