Computer hardware and software marketer TigerDirect Inc. said Tuesday that it has sued WhenU.com Inc. in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida, alleging trademark infringement, dilution and unfair competition.
According to TigerDirect, WhenU.com software causes pop-up and banner ads of TigerDirect's competitors, including Dell Computer and uBid, to appear over TigerDirect's Web site. The complaint alleges that WhenU “improperly and unlawfully diverts customers” from TigerDirect's Web site to those of its competitors.
“We've received dozens of phone calls from confused consumers who, after making a decision to purchase computer products from TigerDirect's Web site, were improperly diverted at the checkout screen to the Web page of WhenU under the guise of additional savings, which savings the consumer believes is with TigerDirect,” Lonny Paul, director of commerce for TigerDirect, said in a statement.
In a similar case, United Parcel Service, The Washington Post Co., The New York Times Co., Dow Jones & Co., Gannett Inc., Condenet Inc., Tribune Interactive Inc., Knight Ridder Digital and three other publishers are suing Gator Corp. for allegedly serving unauthorized pop-ups. The suit charges that Gator infringes on their copyrights and trademarks, depriving them of revenue.
