Lamparello v. Falwell
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
420 F.3d 309 (4th Cir. 2005)
Reverend Jerry Falwell (defendant), who held trademarks in his own name and ran a website at www.falwell.com, was the target of a critical website Christopher Lamparello (plaintiff) ran at the similarly spelled www.fallwell.com, which openly criticized Falwell's teachings and beliefs and displayed a disclaimer stating it was 'NOT affiliated with Jerry Falwell or his ministry.' Lamparello never sold anything on the site and never sought payment from Falwell for the domain name. Lamparello sued for a declaratory judgment that his site didn't infringe Falwell's trademarks, and Falwell counterclaimed for trademark infringement and violation of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA); the district court granted Falwell summary judgment, and Lamparello appealed.
Whether using a domain name for the purpose of comment and criticism constitutes bad faith intent to profit under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.