DRAPER, Utah, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Federal District Court
Judge of the Southern District of New York, Deborah Batts, granted a
preliminary injunction sought by 1-800 CONTACTS against WhenU.com and Vision
Direct, a subsidiary of drugstore.com, inc. (Nasdaq: DSCM), for their use of
pop-up advertisements. This injunction was granted against both the company
paying for the pop-up advertisements (Vision Direct) as well as the company
which sells the pop-up advertisements ( WhenU.com ). Of note, Judge Batts
found that companies such as 1-800 CONTACTS have the right to protect
themselves from the confusion pop-up advertisements create. She stated,
"On the Internet, online shoppers have a myriad of competing retailers
literally at their finger tips, are easily able to research preferences,
and with very little time and effort are able to enact their preferences
with purchases. In this context, the good will and reputation that
Plaintiff and other online retailers have established is of extreme
importance. Plaintiff has spent considerable sums to establish and
maintain its marks' notoriety with online consumers, and is entitled to
protect this investment from conduct that infringes those marks. An
online shopper who has knowledge of Plaintiff's marks and an interest
sufficient to choose to visit or find Plaintiff's website is a potential
buyer that Plaintiff is entitled to protect from confusion."
Judge Batts also found that in addition to creating confusion with the
pop-up advertisements, Vision Direct acted in bad faith by cybersquatting on a
confusingly similar domain name to 1-800 CONTACTS. She stated,
"Relying on these factors, it is apparent that Vision Direct has acted
with bad faith....Accordingly, the Court finds sufficient evidence to
establish the bad faith of Defendant Vision Direct in registering and
maintaining the http://www.www1800Contacts.com domain name. Based on the
foregoing, [1-800 Contacts] has established a likelihood of success on
its Cybersquatting claims....Accordingly, issuance of a preliminary
injunction against Defendant Vision Direct's use of the domain name
http://www.www1800Contacts.com is appropriate."
Joe Zeidner, General Counsel of 1-800 CONTACTS, said, "Now that the
preliminary injunction is in place, we will proceed to the discovery phase of
the litigation. We are interested in understanding the extent of the damage
1-800 CONTACTS suffered due to the advertising tactics used by WhenU and
purchased by Vision Direct."
1-800 CONTACTS (Nasdaq: CTAC) offers consumers an attractive alternative
for obtaining replacement contact lenses in terms of convenience, price and
speed of delivery. Through its easy-to-remember, toll-free telephone number,
"1-800 CONTACTS" (1-800-266-8228), and its Internet web site,
http://www.contacts.com , the Company sells all of the popular brands of contact
lenses. 1-800 CONTACTS offers products at competitive prices, while
delivering a high level of customer service.
This news release contains forward-looking statements about the Company's
future business prospects as a result of this preliminary injunction. These
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by such
forward-looking statements.
SOURCE 1-800 CONTACTS
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Related links:
http://www.contacts.com
CONTACT:
Kevin McCallum, Corporate Spokesperson,
+1-801-924-9826, media@contacts.com , or Brian W. Bethers, Chief
Financial Officer, +1-801-924-9800, investor@contacts.com , both
of 1-800 CONTACTS, INC.
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