Digital Equipment Corp. v. Altavista Technology, Inc.

960 F. Supp. 456, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3457, 1997 WL 136437
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedMarch 12, 1997
Docket96-12192-NG
StatusPublished
Cited by67 cases

This text of 960 F. Supp. 456 (Digital Equipment Corp. v. Altavista Technology, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Digital Equipment Corp. v. Altavista Technology, Inc., 960 F. Supp. 456, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3457, 1997 WL 136437 (D. Mass. 1997).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

GERTNER, District Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION.458

II. BACKGROUND.459

III. PERSONAL JURISDICTION .461

A. Burden Of Proof.461

B. Personal Jurisdiction And The Internet.462

C. Methods Of Determining Personal Jurisdiction.463

D. The Massachusetts Long-Arm Statute .464

1. ATI’s Transaction Of Business In Massachusetts.464
2. ATI’s Alleged Tort Caused By Acts In Massachusetts.466
3. Alleged Tort Caused By Acts Outside Massachusetts.467

E. Constitutional Due Process Concerns.468

1. Relatedness .468
2. Purposeful Availment.468
3. “Reasonableness” Test (Featuring Gestalt Factors).470

a. The “Onerous” Burden Of Appearance.•.471

b. Massachusetts’s Interest In This Lawsuit.471

c. The Convenience Of This Particular Venue.471

d. The Administration Of Justice.471

e. Some Pertinent Policy Arguments .471

F. Other Internet Personal Jurisdiction Cases .472

IV. PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION .472

A. Preliminary Injunction Standard.472

B. Breach Of The Trademark License.473

1. Terms of the “AltaVista” License Agreement.473
2. ATI’s Breach(es) Of The Licensing Agreement.475

C. Trademark Infringement And Unfair Competition.476

1. Similarity Of The Two “AltaVista” Marks.477
2. Similarity Of The Goods And Services.477
3. Channels Of Trade/Advertising/Marketing.■.-477
4. Actual Confusion.477
5. ATI’s Intent In Adopting The “AltaVista” Mark.478
6. The Strength Of The “AltaVista” Mark.•.478

V. CONCLUSION.478

I. INTRODUCTION

This case involves a dispute between two corporations over rights and commercial interests on the Internet. 1 Both parties operate electronic services and distribute soft *459 ware over the Internet. The plaintiff, Digital Equipment Corporation (“Digital”), has brought suit against defendant AltaVista Technology, Incorporated (“ATI”), for breach of a trademark licensing agreement, trademark and servicemark infringement, unfair competition, and trademark dilution.

Digital owns an Internet and World Wide Web “search-engine” service known as Alta-Vista. 2 Digital purchased ATI’s rights in its trademark “AltaVista”; Digital then licensed back to ATI the right to use “AltaVista,” in certain defined ways, as part of both ATI’s corporate name and its Uniform Resource Locator (“url”), “http://www.altavista.com.” 3 The license precludes ATI from using Alta-Vista as “the name of a product or service offering.”

Digital seeks a preliminary injunction, claiming that ATI’s Web-site breaches its licensing agreement and infringes its trademark rights in “AltaVista.” ATI opposes Digital’s motion on the merits and moves to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.

First, I find that this Court has jurisdiction over ATI, whose Web-site, in the context of the specific facts of this case, meets both the statutory and constitutional standards. Second, I find that Digital has met the requisite standards for a preliminary injunction.

ATI is hereby ENJOINED from using the trademark AltaVista in any way that does not comport with the specific terms of the licensing agreement, as set forth in the opinion below and the accompanying Order.

II. BACKGROUND

In December, 1995, Digital, a Massachusetts corporation, launched an Internet search service using the servicemark “Alta-Vista.” Since that time, Digital’s AltaVista Internet search service has become one of the leading search services on the Internet and, indeed, one of the most frequently visited sites on the World Wide Web (‘Web”). Currently, Digital’s AltaVista Web-site receives millions of “hits” (or visits) per day. Digital also markets and sells computer software products and services related to the Internet under names such as AltaVista Directory, AltaVista Firewall, AltaVista Forum, AltaVista Mail, etc. Its marketing strategy, however, did not then include soliciting advertising revenues from advertisers on its Web-site.

At the same time, Digital claims two sources for its right to use the service and trademark “AltaVista”: its own use of the mark under common law, and its acquisition by assignment of ATI’s trademark rights in AltaVista.

ATI is a California corporation, formerly known as Tree Full of Owls, Inc.; it changed its name to AltaVista Technology, Inc., by amendment to its Articles of Incorporation, in May of 1994. In March of 1996, Digital paid for an assignment of ATI’s rights to the trademark AltaVista; it immediately licensed-back to ATI the right to use AltaVis-ta both as part of ATI’s corporate name, AltaVista Technology, Inc., and as part of ATI’s Web-site address “www.altavista.com.” The license agreement, however, precludes ATI from using “AltaVista” as “the name of a product or service offering.”

The scope and meaning of this license are hotly contested by the parties. ATI contends that its agreement with Digital was formed with the specific intention of allowing it to benefit from the popularity of Digital’s *460 AltaVista, and the strong brand identity the “AltaVista” search service had created. In contrast, Digital maintains that ATI’s licensing agreement strictly limited ATI’s ability to use “Altavista” — as part of its . corporate name and its url — and not as “the name of a product or service offering.”

Consistent with its broad interpretation of the agreement, ATI dramatically changed the appearance of its Web-site, 4 moving it markedly closer to the appearance of Digital’s AltaVista Web-site. 5 By the time this lawsuit was brought by Digital, ATI’s Website looked like, and could effectively function as, Digital’s AltaVista search service.

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Bluebook (online)
960 F. Supp. 456, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3457, 1997 WL 136437, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/digital-equipment-corp-v-altavista-technology-inc-mad-1997.