MGM Resorts, Fonbet battle online cybersquatters

Casino operator MGM Resorts has asked a court to shut down a cybersquatter’s MGM-branded online gambling site.

Last week, MGM filed a trademark infringement suit in a Nevada federal court against the unidentified operator behind Korean-language online casino Livemgm.com. The site makes liberal use of MGM’s iconic ‘lion head’ logo and even includes a bogus copyright notice referencing MGM Resorts International.

MGM’s suit notes that it owns the copyright on both the MGM trademark and the lion logo. The suit accuses the unknown Korean operator of “impersonating MGM and trading off of the substantial fame, goodwill and consumer recognition” of the MGM brand to “lure gamblers to gamble at its illicit website.”

MGM is asking the court for injunctive relief, including transferring the domain name to MGM’s control, compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees and costs. The domain transfer is likely, given US registrar control over all dot-com sites, but enforcing any financial penalties will prove slightly more challenging.