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ARTICLE · 28 APRIL 2011

FTC v. Cantkier 2011 WL 742647 (D.D.C. Mar. 3, 2011)

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Defendants purchased the names of various federal homeowner-assistance programs and their associated domain names as search-engine keywords.

United StatesIntellectual Property
David Kelly
David Kelly
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This article appeared in Incontestable - March/April 2011 Issue.

ABSTRACT

Defendants purchased the names of various federal homeowner-assistance programs and their associated domain names as search-engine keywords. When consumers clicked on defendants' ads, the resulting websites solicited personal and financial information, which defendants then sold as marketing leads.  The FTC sued for "deceptive acts and practices" in violation of § 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, alleging that defendants' use of the terms in his sponsored ads misrepresented an affiliation with the federal programs.  In denying the motion to dismiss filed by one of the defendants, the court rejected the arguments that defendants were not liable because consumers understood that they were clicking on ads and that defendants' advertised websites did not resemble the official government websites.

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