A five-year-long cyberpiracy case filed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences against GoDaddy is coming close to an end. The GoDaddy cyberpiracy case went to trial last week in a federal courtroom in California.
In an upcoming proceeding, the Central District of California will hear closing arguments in which the Academy will reiterate allegations that GoDaddy sold domain names such as betacademyawards.com and 2011Oscars.com and allowed customers to “park” pages on that domain and earn money from GoDaddy’s advertising partners.
In this case, the Academy seeks statutory damages of about $30 million — or $100,000 per infringement — for the 293 domain names in question. The pressing question, however, is: How much will GoDaddy have to pay?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, GoDaddy’s expert witness claimed the damages should be on the low end and based only on very specific calculations:
- The Academy losses as a result of the domain name parking
- GoDaddy revenue from the domain parking
- The Academy’s likely rate from licensing its intellectual property
Based on those factors, GoDaddy’s expert suggested that the appropriate award should be $293,000 – considerably less than the $30 million sought by the Academy.
The Academy counter-argued that a key flaw exists in GoDaddy’s assessment. Specifically, it argued that GoDaddy’s small financial gain from the parking does not automatically mean that damages from the action should be similarly minimal. Issues like tarnished reputation should be factored in as well, he argued, beyond a simple calculation of the revenue from clicked ads.
The Academy attempted to further discrediting GoDaddy’s testimonial assessment by pointing out that the Academy has license agreements worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, in assessing the damages, GoDaddy’s expert claimed that the “reasonable rate” the Academy would want to charge for use of various marks is no more than $300.
As the Hollywood Reporter reported, the expert’s only response was to deadpan, “Three hundred and forty eight dollars.” This reply did not shine a favorable light on GoDaddy’s case by seemingly agreeing, with the Academy, that GoDaddy’s financial benefit did not correspond to the minimal statutory damages the Academy asserts claims to.
The conflicting claims to statutory damages will soon be decided when the Court will make its decision without a jury, with the potential of a significant legal fee tallied, as well. Will that really be the end, however? We’ll see, as there is always possibility of appeal.
The Internet has become the dominant means of communication and mode of conducting business. As the growth of the internet increases, so does trademark infringement, such as cyberpiracy or cybersquatting. If you have been a victim of trademark infringement, contact the Law Offices of Cynthia Conlin, P.A. to speak to an experienced attorney.
This is a very interesting case of cyberpiracy. GoDaddy certainly has a lot of chutzpah if it thinks it can exploit the Oscars franchise. I’m amazed that they thought they could get away with it. I’m also flabbergasted that the Academy seeks $30 million in compensation. Surely this is too much? But then, $293,000 is probably too little.