Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

An anti-piracy trade body is taking a law firm to court for trade mark infringement. The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) is suing Scott & Scott LLP for service mark infringement and cybersquatting in the US.

The case centres on the Dallas, Texas firm's use of the siiadefense.com domain name. On the site it also makes use of the SIIA logo in a manner which the trade body is now disputing.

"Their use of SIIA's name and logo is likely to cause confusion since it leads people to believe that the defendants' legal services are legitimately connected with or approved by SIIA," said Mark Bohannon, general counsel at SIIA.

The website reads: "Accused of software piracy by the Software & Information Industry Association? Our lawyers have the legal and technical expertise to defend your business through every step of the SIIA audit process."

It features the SIIA logo, which the trade body claims implies a connection between the body and the law firm. The SIIA is also making a claim under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. It says that the law firm is intending to profit from the use of SIIA's name in its domain name.

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