DameWare Development v. Northern Software

Citation: DameWare Dev., L.L.C. v. Northern Software, S.A., 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3982 (E.D. La. Mar. 12, 2003).

Factual Background
Plaintiff developed and sold software under the mark DAMEWARE since 1990 and operated a website at "dameware.com" to promote and sell its products. Defendant became a distributor of plaintiff's products in 1999, but plaintiff withdrew defendant's authorization to sell plaintiff's products in September 2001 because defendant was not properly accounting for its sales. Seven months before plaintiff ended their relationship, defendant registered the domain name "dameware.net." Defendant established a website at "dameware.net" and continued to use that site to sell plaintiff's products even after plaintiff withdrew defendant's authorization to do so.

Trial Court Proceedings
Plaintiff sued for cybersquatting and moved for default judgment due to defendant's failure to file an answer. Plaintiff sought an injunction] against defendant's use of "dameware.net" and any other similar [[domain name, transfer of the "dameware.net" domain name, attorney's fees, and $20,000 in statutory damages.

The court granted plaintiff's motion for default judgment, finding that the facts alleged in the complaint were sufficient to support the ACPA claim. The court enjoined defendant from using "dameware.net" and any confusingly similar names, ordered transfer of the domain name to plaintiff, and awarded plaintiff $19,295.65 in attorney's fees and $5,000 in statutory damages. The court did not award statutory damages of $20,000 as requested by plaintiff, finding that $5,000 was "appropriate and fair" in view of the attorney's fees and expenses sought by plaintiff.

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