As of yesterday afternoon, typing pcslists.com into a Web browser no longer linked a user to the Act One Mailing List Services Web site.
The same can be said for a number of URLs similar to those of at least five other list firms that also had been linked to the Act One site.
A former employee of Act One in January registered domain names nearly identical to the home pages of PCS List & Information Technologies and 10 other firms that compete with Act One, according to Act One president/CEO Steven M. Cushinsky.
He claimed that the first he learned of the situation was May 24 when he received a cease-and-desist letter from MSGi, one of the competing firms.
On May 31, Cushinsky said he sent paperwork to Register.com to release the offending domain names back into circulation, which he was told takes a few days to process.
Apparently, that paperwork went through yesterday.
Even so, DM News discovered that at least one URL still links to the Act One site.
As of yesterday, typing SRDSlists.com — similar to SRDS' site, srds.com — links to Act One's site.
“SRDS was on the list we sent to Register.com. It should be taken care of shortly,” Cushinsky said.
Earlier yesterday, an SRDS employee said the firm planned to issue a cease-and-desist letter, although it is unclear how it would proceed if the domain name is disabled.
While the pcslists.com URL has been deactivated, PCS List intends to forge ahead with a lawsuit for damages.
“It's hard to say what the potentially lost business is worth in dollars, but we think it's the principle of the thing,” said Ann Guyer Healy, CEO of PCS List & Information Technologies, Peabody, MA.
Still, Cushinsky maintained that his firm received no extra business as a result of the situation and said he would make his case in court if need be.
“During the five-month period since the domain names were registered, Act One only received a total of six e-mails and calls, every one of which was received over the last few weeks,” he said.
