Milwaukee-based water technology company
A.O. Smith is suing an Illinois business for allegedly engaging in a cybersquatting scheme aimed at profiting off A.O. Smith’s business.
Cybersquatting is a form of extortion in which a cybercriminal uses an internet domain name that is similar to a trademark, company name, or personal name with the intent to profit from the goodwill of the actual trademark owner.
Bellevue, Illinois-based
Discounted Water Filters, Inc. is accused of using the “Hague” trademark to sell water treatment systems and components; however, the products being sold by DWF are not even manufactured by A.O. Smith.
DWF markets and sells water treatment systems and component parts, including aftermarket water treatment system replacement parts.
A.O. Smith acquired the Hague business in 2017. That acquisition includes two federally registered trademarks that use the Hague name.
“Defendant’s scheme to usurp A.O. Smith’s valuable goodwill has even included registering and using a domain name – haguewaterfilters.com – that incorporates one of the Hague marks to sell non-Hague products,” according to a complaint filed by A.O. Smith.
When A.O. Smith demanded that Discounted Water Filters stop using the Hague trademark, the business responded by saying it would consider no longer using the trademark if A.O. Smith offered to buy the company, a “hallmark tactic of willful infringers and cybersquatters alike,” reads the complaint.
In November 2023, DWF filed a lawsuit against A.O. Smith in the Central District of Illinois, seeking a declaration that its use of the Hague trademark does not infringe on A.O. Smith’s rights. That case was later dismissed.
"A. O. Smith refused to be held hostage to (DWF's) purchase condition, and to this day (DWF) willfully and intentionally continues its infringing uses of the Hague marks, even after A. O. Smith’s demands for minor revisions to mitigate the risk of consumer confusion," according to the complaint.
A.O. Smith seeks injunctive relief against DWF, a legal action that requires a party to stop doing something, along with an unspecified amount in monetary damages. Representatives with A.O. Smith declined to comment on the pending litigation Monday. Discounted Water Filters couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
