BE2 LLC v. IVANOV. One online matchmaking service has sued another for trademark infringement.

BE2 LLC v. IVANOV. One online matchmaking service has sued another for trademark infringement.

Usa Court of Appeals,Seventh Circuit.

One matchmaking that is online has sued another for trademark infringement. The problem on appeal is whether or not the defendant’s Web task made him at risk of jurisdiction that is personal Illinois for claims due to that task. We conclude we reverse and remand with directions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction that it did not, so.

We lay out the facts because they can be found in the issue. Plaintiff be2 LLC is just a Delaware restricted liability business that is additionally headquartered for the reason that state.

Its moms and dad business, be2 keeping, A.G., is headquartered and organized in Germany. These businesses, which we collectively call be2 Holding, run an Internet dating website located at be2.com. Plaintiff be2 Holding originally offered its dating solution only to singles in European countries. In the last years that are few be2 Holding has extended its reach to 14 million users in 36 nations, such as the united states of america.

The problem asserts claims arising underneath the Lanham Act, 15 U.S .C. §§ 1114(1), 1125(a), federal law that is common therefore the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade ways Act, 815 ILCS 510/1 to /7. The problem names Nikolay Ivanov, a resident of the latest Jersey, being a defendant. Allegedly he’s the co-founder and CEO of be2.net as well as the individual “responsible in the most common of business transactions” on the internet site. Until December 2006, the issue continues, Ivanov offered a matchmaking service through the sladurana.com that is internet site. Until the period, the be2.net site have been simply an accumulation of links with other sites. But during December 2006, Ivanov allegedly relocated their matchmaking solution towards the web site be2.net, intentionally deciding to make use of a existing domain target and design which were “confusingly comparable” to be2.com “with the intention of misleading customers.”

Ivanov failed to respond to the issue or attend a planned status hearing, and so the region court granted plaintiff’s dental movement for entry of standard under Rule 55(a) associated with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The court later entered a default judgment under Rule 55(b)(2) on plaintiff’s motion. To show its damages, be2 Holding presented a statement from Andreas Etten, its co-CEO and user of its board of directors. Etten mounted on their statement a few papers printed from the web. Several of those papers had been more highly relevant to whether individual jurisdiction ended up being appropriate in Illinois than these people were to damages. One document is a printout from the “American personals” directory of this web site be2.net. The document reveals that once the web site had been accessed one 12 months ahead of the hearing, 10 males and 10 females with Chicago details had registered on be2.net for matchmaking solutions. Another document, printed through the internet site sladurana.com, is headlined “be2 Management Team” and features Nick Ivanov once the CEO and co-founder, along with “the one accountable for censorship, profile approval, design, and marketing.” The web page ended up being printed through the site sladurana.com, however it is emblazoned with all the “be2.net” logo design. The document also incorporates a disclaimer emphasizing that “be2.NET is in NO CHANCE associated with be2.COM and their unjust methods.” a 3rd document apparently is Ivanov’s profile printed through the social-networking web site connectedIn. beneath the category “Experience https://datingmentor.org/escort/oxnard/,” it includes another description of Ivanov since the co-founder and CEO of “be2.net” and boasts that the internet site offers“dating that is free with thousands of internet surfers.”

Following the region court entered its last standard judgment against Ivanov, he showed up for the very first time through counsel and filed a movement to vacate the judgment as void for desire of individual jurisdiction. The bulgarian company that had registered and owned the domain name be2.net along with his motion, Ivanov submitted an affidavit in which he claimed that he was not the co-founder and CEO of any company called be2.net but merely a volunteer for Sladur. Ivanov, a Bulgarian–American, reported that he had written a testimonial on Sladur’s Bulgarian matchmaking web site, which prompted the business to inquire about for their assist in breaking in to the united states of america market. He consented, he stated, because he had been proud to be of solution to a business from their indigenous land, but stated that their tasks consisted mostly of translating content that is website Bulgarian to English, responding to some client inquiries, and approving users’ pages. He currently had a job that is full-time he advertised, and stated he considered their work with Sladur being a “hobby.” He attempted to explain their “CEO” status by claiming that Sladur had held him down since the CEO of be2.net and also by insisting that the acronym endured just for “Centralized Expert Operator.” Sladur never compensated him for their services, he reported, nor did he get some other monetary benefit from their relationship because of the internet site be2.net. And, he concluded, he previously never ever set base within the state of Illinois.

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