April 1, 2002
Hollywood, Florida – In just one month, RealMetros.com, Inc. (RealMetros) prevailed in its first intellectual property suit against digital piracy.
The Consent Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction Against Defendant dated March 15, 2002 ordered the defendant in the suit, Jay Taylor, to disgorge all profits realized from his AllHotelsIn.com website from the time he posted RealMetros' original content; to pay damages owing to infringement, attorneys' fees and costs; and to transfer ownership and license to the domain name to RealMetros.
"In February, we declared war on those who would steal the intellectual property of others on the Internet," said Mark Metz, president of RealMetros. "This is our first victory."
RealMetros is a pioneering contextual commerce firm, known for its content-rich "Guide" brand travel and tourism sites. Metz established his contextual commerce concept in 1992, and incorporated RealMetros in 1996. High standards for accuracy, thoroughness, quality and user-friendliness made RealMetros a prime target for piracy.
"Like insurance fraud or shoplifting, copyright theft is not a victimless crime," Metz said. "Everyone suffers the consequences, everyone pays the price ultimately. Recently, Disney's chairman and CEO Michael Eisner testified before a Senate Committee on the disastrous impact of digital piracy. His words hit home. Whether it's theft from a giant like Disney or theft from an entrepreneurial firm like ours, with thousands of research and development hours and untold dollars invested in original material, theft is theft, it causes real harm, and it cannot be tolerated."
In the case of RealMetros.com, Inc. v. Taylor, Case No. 02-60215, filed February 11, 2002 in United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, RealMetros claimed Taylor made unlawful and opportunistic use of its website content. According to the complaint, "[e]ven a casual review of Defendant's website reveals it is a near exact replica of the [RealMetros] websites. In most every respect it copies verbatim the text of the Websites as well as the function, format and design of the [RealMetros] Websites."
In essence, Taylor "cut and pasted" RealMetros' work wholesale to his own site and used original copyrighted and proprietary material to derive personal income.
RealMetros has vowed to vigorously pursue online pirates; to eschew their enablers; and to forge an alliance with others who share its objective. For more information contact RealMetros vice president Scott Rogers, Esq., (954) 981-5850.