Commentary

Just an Online Minute... An Injunction Against Gator

It looks like the publishers beat Gator. At least for the time being. At a hearing Friday afternoon in Virginia, the court said it would be issuing a “preliminary injunction order” honoring the publishers’ motion that Gator stop showing ads to consumers viewing the publishers’ Web pages between now and the conclusion of the trial.

The injunction only applies to the sites participating in the original suit, and will not affect Gator’s ability to provide its services to consumers and clients.

No trial dates have been set, but Gator said that it has asked for an expedited trial. Should that request be granted (depending on various court regulations, I’ll spare you the legalese), the matter could go to trial as November.

At the end of June, several publishers, including the New York Times and Dow Jones, filed suit against privately held Gator, alleging that the company's pop-up ads, which appear on publishers’ websites without permission, violate trademark and copyright laws. In the suit, the publishers said the ads often confused users and hurt their traffic numbers and advertising revenue. Gator countered the claims of the publishers, which also included the Washington Post Co. and Tribune Interactive, Advance Publications, Knight-Ridder Inc. and Gannett Co. Inc.

Jeff McFadden, Gator’s president and CEO, said in a statement, “We are highly confident that once all the facts are presented in the upcoming trial -- no Court will issue a ruling eliminating a consumers’ right to decide for themselves what is displayed on their own computer screens.”

The publishers, meanwhile, are rather happy with the latest development. Terence Ross, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and the attorney for the publishers in the Gator lawsuit, said, “Today's decision is an important first step for the plaintiffs. The judge has found that through its continuing practices, Gator is violating the intellectual property rights of these websites. This is only a first step in the legal process, but it sends a clear signal that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims against Gator."

Simply put, as one of the publishers said, “This is HUGE!” The publisher asked not to be identified.

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