Slipknot are looking to claim the Slipknot.com web address, filing a lawsuit against the anonymous cyber-squatter who registered the domain in 2001 — a few years after the band’s formation.
Per a report by Billboard, Slipknot filed the lawsuit last week on October 15th under the federal Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act while also citing trademark infringement and unfair competition.
All that’s known about the cyber-squatter is that they own a post office box in the Cayman Islands and have profited off Slipknot’s brand for decades via pay-per-click links to bootleg merchandise. A visit to the shady website prompts users to disable their browser’s ad blocker. Meanwhile, Slipknot have been forced to use the less obvious “Slipknot1.com” domain as the home for their official website throughout their career.
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“The domain name was registered in an effort to profit off of plaintiff’s goodwill and to trick unsuspecting visitors — under the impression they are visiting a website owned, operated or affiliated with plaintiff — into clicking on web searches and other sponsored links,” wrote Slipknot’s lawyer Craig Reilly, via Billboard. “A fan of plaintiff or someone who otherwise wanted to purchase authorized Slipknot merchandise would undoubtedly visit the slipknot.com website assuming it belonged to plaintiff and then purchase the slipknot merchandise linked to on the site, causing damages to plaintiff.”
Slipknot’s attorney also claims that the cyber-squatter has spoofed an organization, “Slipknot Online Services, Ltd,” as the administrative contact registrant, although the actual name of the individual was not identified in WHOIS or ICANN domain registry records.
It appears Slipknot have a good chance of getting the domain back, as the federal Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act allows individuals and companies to assume control of domain names that are identical or confusingly similar to their own, as long as they can prove that the domain name holder acted in bad faith. The band’s representation is asking a judge to enter an injunction giving the group ownership of slipknot.com, as well as unspecified financial damages as the result of trademark infringement and unfair competition.
The lawsuit comes just over two months after Slipknot reportedly closed in on a deal to sell their music catalog in a transaction valued at approximately $120 million. The deal reportedly covers the band’s archival catalog and does not extend to future release.