A Florida court has issued a temporary order obliging a web site
hosting consumer complaints to shut down, in a case brought by
US-based furniture store Kane's Furniture. In an unusual move,
state investigators have intervened, arguing that the order
violates consumer rights and free speech, according to the
Associated Press.
The dispute involves kanes-furniture.net, a site which published
hundreds of consumer complaints against Kane's Furniture. Kane's
Furniture sued the site's operators, arguing that the word 'kanes'
in the site's web address was confusingly similar to the company's
trade mark, and therefore constituted trade mark infringement.
The court sided with the store's arguments, and issued a
temporary injunction ordering the site to shut down pending a full
hearing.
State investigators, however, claim that the order is
"anti-consumer" and intend to fight against it in court, the
Associated Press reports.
In fact, Kane's Furniture has been subject to state
investigation since 2002, following hundreds of customer complaints
over false sales promotions, defective products and other issues
that were channelled to investigators via the gripe site.
An Assistant Attorney General told Associated Press that the
state would file a "friend of the court" brief as soon as possible
in support of the web site's operators.
