Ford's trademark-infringement lawsuit, filed last week, asks a judge to order 2600 Enterprises Inc. to stop using the questioned domain name, saying the redirection is “confusing the public into believing that somehow Ford has approved (of the tactic) or is somehow involved.”
The U.S. District Court suit names not-for-profit 2600 Enterprises, which lists a Middle Island, N.Y., post office as its address, and Eric Corley, the business' administrative and technical contact also known as Emmanuel Goldstein.
Messages left Monday at 2600 Enterprises, which publishes The Hacker Quarterly, were not immediately returned.
According to the suit, which seeks unspecified damages, an Internet user searching for a strident, vulgar criticism of GM might type in or stumble upon the questioned domain name, then be “catapulte'”to Ford's official Web site.
“As a result, Ford is inevitably linked not only to the vulgar, strident criticism of a competitor, but also associated with the offensive, obscene word that is used in the domain name,” the suit alleges.
Ford, the world's second-largest automaker, also alleges the confusing redirection “tarnishes the goodwill and reputation of Ford” and dilutes Ford's trademark.
Ford said those affiliated with 2600 Enterprises are unassociated with the automaker “and have absolutely no right to point their domain name” to Ford's Web site.
Jay Cooney, a GM spokesman on legal matters, said Monday “we absolutely and totally support Ford” in the lawsuit.
“There's no value to publishing a domain name laced with profanity. It's not a social commentary. It's just nothing,” Cooney said.
Ford's lawsuit, scheduled for a hearing May 2, is the latest legal battle involving Corley and 2600 Enterprises.
Last year, both were sued by eight Hollywood movie studios for posting on the 2600 Enterprises' Web site access or a link to software that descrambles the code meant to prevent DVDs from being copied.
In August, a federal judge in New York ruled that posting the code violated federal copyright law, rejecting a defense argument that computer code is a form of expression protected by the First Amendment.
The software, developed by hackers, helps computer users copy full-length movies from digital versatile discs onto their hard drives or other media.
Cooney said GM last October learned that a domain name melding an obscenity with GM's name linked to that automaker's own Web site. GM tracked the questioned domain name — registered in September 1999 — to 2600 Enterprises, then sent a cease-and-desist letter to the firm, which halted the link, Cooney said.
Last month, Cooney said, GM found that the questioned name had resurfaced in a different fashion, this time linking to Ford's Web site.
Ford's suit seeks both a temporary and permanent injunction barring continued use of the questioned domain name, which the automaker argues should be transferred to the court's jurisdiction pending the case's outcome.