Scribd sues over free-download website
E-book subscription service Scribd has taken action over a website that allegedly allows users to download free pirated content.
The case was filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, on Friday, May 12.
It alleged that the defendants, from Utah and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, run the website ‘Scribd-Download.com’, which gives away free Scribd content and asks users to donate via PayPal.
Scribd sent a notice of infringement to the defendants on May 1, 2017.
The claim added that Scribd received a response from the defendants on May 10 stating that “Scribd-Download was not being used to refer to Scribd’s services on Scribd.com, but rather as an acronym for “Speedy crazy randomly internet book & document download”.
Scribd holds US registration number 3,777,227 for the ‘Scribd’ trademark, in connection with “computer software for sharing electronic documents via electronic, optical and wireless networks”.
Scribd has used the mark in commerce since March 2007, according to the claim.
The claim said: “Users who encounter Scribd-Download.com are likely to believe, and have in fact expressed to Scribd their belief, that it is affiliated with or a part of Scribd or that Scribd approves of or has a business relationship with Scribd-Download.com.
“This confusion, mistake, and deception regarding the source of Scribd-Download.com and Scribd divert Scribd customers and misappropriates Scribd’s reputation, content and goodwill,” added the suit.
It is seeking a preliminary injunction, transfer of the infringing domain name, damages, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial.
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