Earlier this month, MGM Resorts International filed a lawsuit against several entrepreneurs who have purchased domain names that pertain to different MGM properties, with attorneys for MGM stating that they were “cyber squatters.” This legal battle is beginning to heat up, as a Texas man has filed a response to the MGM lawsuit that challenges their stance.
On December 1, MGM attorneys dropped the lawsuits regarding their Las Vegas properties. These properties – the Aria, the Bellagio, Circus Circus, the Excalibur, the Luxor, Mandalay Bay and the MGM – all had website domain names that included the name “poker” (for example, excaliburpoker.com) that were registered between 2002 and 2005. The MGM lawsuit looks to seize those names, as they feel that there is a potential for confusion with their casino properties, and return them to the ownership of MGM Resorts.
Following the release of the lawsuit, one of the defendants, Texas’ Adam Majewski, filed a motion for dismissal this week. Majewski, who has owned the excaliburpoker.com domain name since 2005, states that his site doesn’t infringe on MGM Resorts’ trademark of the term “Excalibur.” According to an article from VegasInc.com’s Steve Green, Majewski’s motion states, “Excalibur is not a distinctive mark…It was the sword of kings in the Arthur legends. Thousands of businesses use this name – Excalibur Bowling, Excalibur Taxi and even Excalibur Condoms.”
While he does admit to being an entrepreneur in online gaming, internet marketing and social media, Majewski says he has gone out of his way to avoid targeting Nevada with his site, VegasInc says.
The reasons for the MGM lawsuit are clear, according to Majewski. “Recent changes in Nevada law have opened up the prospect for Internet gambling,” Majewski’s motion states. “Late to the feeding frenzy, MGM wants to leverage the well-known names of its hotels in Las Vegas.”
In November, the Nevada State Gaming Control Board began to accept applications for online poker licenses, albeit on an intrastate level rather than interstate or international level. While these licenses would allow operators to open up for online poker, they will not be enacted unless the federal government legalizes and regulates online gaming or the NGCB receives word from the federal government that a state-wide operation would be legal. Still, the rush is on for many casino owners to get their particular operations on the licensing list so that they will be ready to reap the benefits of a legalized online poker arena in the U. S.
The other sites in question are ariapoker.com, bellagioonlinepoker.com, circuscircuspoker.com, luxorpoker.com, mandalaybayonlinepoker.com and mgmpoker.com.
This isn’t the first lawsuit that MGM Resorts has filed against what they view as “cyber squatters.” Back in August, MGM Resorts struck against several domain name holders that incorporated the term “Gold Strike” into their poker operations. MGM owns the Gold Strike properties in both Nevada and Mississippi and felt this, again, was an assault against their properties. That lawsuit ended in September when a settlement was reached.
Green also reports in the VegasInc article a lawsuit that steps outside of the online poker world. MGM Resorts filed suit against a company in California that used the term “Bellagio” for their store. The store, which sells handbags and shoes from a retail outlet as well as an online website, uses the distinctive “B” mark that the Bellagio uses as its trademark.
In total, four individuals and two companies have been the target of the MGM Resorts lawsuit regarding the online poker angle. At this point, only Majewski has made any response regarding his excaliburpoker.com site (for visitors to the site, all that is presented is a logo but no further usage). Despite Majewski’s motion, U. S. District Court Judge Philip Pro has issued a preliminary injunction following the MGM lawsuit’s filing that locks up the sites in question until the case can be litigated or settled. As Majewski’s motion was only filed last week, Judge Pro has not had a chance to fully review and rule on it.
