Delta settles dispute with ‘fraudulent’ ticket site
Delta Air Lines’ lawsuit against an alleged “fraudulent” ticket platform has been settled, prompting the discontinuance of the case.
District Judge Alison Nathan ordered (pdf) the discontinuation without costs to any party at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, May 1.
Nathan said the discontinuation is also without prejudice to the restoration of the action, if an application to restore the case is made within 30 days of the order.
American company Delta filed the complaint (pdf) against ticket-booking platform Faremachine and unidentified agents of the company in September last year.
The lawsuit accused Faremachine of intentional trademark infringement, counterfeiting, and unfair competition. It added that “other wrongful acts”, including unjust enrichment and tarnishment of a mark, had been committed.
Delta said Faremachine was doing business as deltaairlinesreservations.org in an “intentionally-fraudulent scheme” designed to harm Delta’s business and “defraud innocent retail customers”. The domain name was registered in September 2016, according to Delta.
Faremachine’s website illegally used Delta’s well-known brand and registered trademarks, the complaint said, in efforts to “confuse” consumers.
Delta said it is one of the world’s largest commercial airlines and generates more than $36 billion in annual revenue. The ‘Delta’ marks therefore prompt “favourable recognition” for high-quality products and services.
Word mark ‘Delta Air Lines’ was registered in the US in 1950 (trademark number 0,523,611). The airline company said billions of dollars have been invested in worldwide advertising and marketing around its registered marks such as this one.
Delta explained that consumers approaching the website believe they are contacting Delta to modify a booking or purchase new tickets.
The claim said a toll-free number, displayed online, directs consumers to Faremachine’s call centre where employees identify themselves to callers as “Delta”, “Delta Air Lines”, or “Delta Reservations”.
Faremachine’s use of the Delta marks has created an “undesirable, unwholesome, and unsavoury” association between the platform and Delta, which the complaint said caused Delta to suffer reputational as well as pecuniary losses.
The airline company had requested a preliminary and permanent injunction against Faremachine and its affiliates, as well as special and general damages including all profits received as a result of the infringing activities and all losses suffered by Delta. Delta also asked for reasonable attorneys’ fees.
Details of the settlement have not been made public, but both parties have been approached for comment. Nathan said a stipulation of dismissal can be submitted within 30 days of the court’s order and confirmed that the court cannot enforce a settlement agreement unless its terms are on the public record.
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