Trademark holders in a seemingly unending quest to expand their online rights, have now filed suit against Craigslist for trademark infringement based on ads posted by users.
The lawsuit was brought by Texas real estate company First Call Properties, (yes Texas again) which alleges that it began advertising on Craigslist’s in March and that a competing company, AAA Apartment Locating (AAA), began posting Craigslist ads that use the phrases “first call,” “call first,” and “call us first.”
First Call alleges that those ads were placed in a deliberate attempt to confuse consumers.
The company also asserts that Craigslist knew that AAA was using the First Call trademark and failed to stop the ads from appearing.
The lawsuit, in the Federal Court for the southern district of Texas late last week named Craigslist, AAA and two other individuals as defendants. Before the case was sent to federal court, a state court judge issued a preliminary order banning Craigslist and AAA from using “Call First,” “First Call Properties,” or “Call Us First,” or similar terms.
Now for me here is the interesting thing.
Unlike the suits filed against Google, on Craigslist, the posted ads are free.
Craigslist does not charge for placing the ads.
Craigslist does not make any more or less money on whether someone clicks on the ads
Now the trademark interest want to place on Craigslist a duty to know every unknown trademark in the world, and make Craigslist the enforcer of trademark laws.
Yet in this particular case the term “First Call” is very generic.
If you search “first call” on Google you get the following companies, all around the world that uses “First Call” and are all in the property management business:
Firstcallpropertyservices.com, located in NH
1st Call Property Management located In CA.
First Call Property Maintenance, located in FL
First Call Property Maintenance, located in the UK
1st Call Property Maintenance Located in Spain
There are HUNDREDS maybe thousands more businesses using 1st call or first call in their name and they are all allowed to co-exist and operate, but when it comes to the net, it seems there can only be one.
If its not the domain their after, then its the exclusive use of the term in all internet advertising.
And what stupid judge would give someone an exclusive right to use the term “call us first” in advertising by issuing a injunction based off First Call which is generic in nature on its own.
Oh BTW “Call Us First” is also trademarked by another company in the background check business.
I’m telling you someone needs to address this problem.
Yes the true trademark infrining domains like “verison”, but we are at the point where every word, 2 letter combo, 3 letter combo and every phrase and saying that anyone has ever heard is trademarked, just in the US.
We need to bring a “famous” requirement back into online trademark law or we got bring problems coming at us.
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