UTube.com vs. YouTube.com

Posted on Nov 6, 2006

From The Smoking Gun

In what may be the most brazenly frivolous lawsuit of all time, an Ohio pipe company whose website, utube.com, has been crippled by Web surfers looking for YouTube.com, is suing for damages, and is demanding that YouTube cede its domain name to the pipe company.

It almost makes us wistful for George Bush’s 2000 push for tort reform….

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The Smoking Gun:

An Ohio pipe company whose website, utube.com, has been crippled by misdirected traffic seeking youtube.com, has sued the online video giant, claiming that the confusion has injured its business. In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment charges that the web address confusion has led to more than 70,000 visitors daily arriving at the pipe firm’s web site looking for videos. Along with increased bandwidth costs (now at $2500 monthly, up from just $100),

Plantiff has suffered injury to its ability to conduct business, to its reputation, to its trademark rights, and has been deprived of its right to the quiet enjoyment of its domain name. Plantiff has lost its kindgdom with its domain

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