Hope this hasn't been posted:
Resolution Reached in TrademarkDispute
September 8, 1999 11:06 AM
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 1999--USABancShares.com, Inc. USAB today announced that it has resolved its trademark dispute with U.S. Bancorp.
Accordingly, USAB will retain the right to permanently use "USABancShares.com", "vBank" and "USACapital" as the respective names of its holding company, FDIC insured banking subsidiary, and NASD stock brokerage. Additionally, USAB will retain ownership of "usabanc.com", which it will hold as an inactive domain name.
Recently, U.S. Bancorp filed a lawsuit in Minnesota Federal Court against USAB seeking to prevent the usage of the trade and domain names "usabanc.com", "vBank", and "USACapital". U.S. Bancorp thereafter obtained a preliminary injunction which prompted USAB to change its trade and domain name to "USABancShares.com" (a trademark owned by USAB since 1995).
U.S. Bancorp then filed another emergency motion seeking to hold USAB in contempt and to prevent usage of "USABancShares.com" as well, which motion was unsuccessful. In response, USAB filed a counter claim challenging the validity of certain U.S. Bancorp trademarks, while asserting anti-trust violations and fraud.
The settlement provides each party with a full release and will completely terminate litigation.
"Our sites are completely different, our philosophies are completely different, our domain names are completely different . . . and our commitment to internet banking is completely different. While I always felt that we'd emerge as a nationwide presence, I never expected a 77 billion dollar company to find us a competitive threat at this early stage, We remain completely confident in our legal position, and are pleased with this prompt resolution under the circumstances," stated Ken Tepper, President & CEO of USAB.
"They thought they could get "USA" out of our name and perhaps even get rid of us altogether in the process . . . and they failed completely. They may not like it, but we're still here and more committed than ever to changing the way people bank. USABancShares.com is a great name and a great identification, and we're proud of it," he concluded.
"The USABanc.com domain name will remain ours and they will not get it or use it ever - and we will continue to do business as USABancShares.com, vBank, and USACapital despite their legal maneuvering. It's now time for us to compete on-line rather than in-court," said Maureen Steady, Corporate Counsel for USABancShares.com.
USAB will resume its national branding campaign featuring online banking and brokerage services under the USABancShares.com identification. Customers can access the site through www.usabancshares.com, and a forwarding message will be placed at the prior site which will direct customers to the new location for 30 days.
"Our focus will remain on our business plan . . . and on our brand," Tepper concluded.
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