Compulenta [March 12, 2002]

Court recognizes legality of sites of the type "companySUCKS"

The Federal Appeals Court of the USA overturned the decision of a lower court regarding the closure of the site "TaubmanSucks.com." The decision was taken in regards to the reopening of the work of the site, until a final decision on the matter is taken. The site "TaubmanSucks.com" belongs to Henry Mishkoff, a resident of the State of Texas. The site describes the Taubman company, which owns a chain of supermarkets in the USA.

The history of the site started from another web page, on which Mishkoff goes after the company and welcomes the closure of the supermarket in the Dallas, Texas area. The site "ShopsAtWillowBend.com," created by the Texan, displeased the company, which accused Mishkoff of infringing rights on the commercial market, owned by Taubman. In response a counter site "TaubmanSucks.com" was created, and was the subject of a court trial. The decision to reopen the site was take pursuant to the First Amendment of the US Constitution regarding freedom of speech.

Source: NewsBytes