MGM files trademark infringement suit
Owners of domains including mgmpoker.com subject to lawsuit.
Casino operator MGM Resorts International has filed a lawsuit with the United States District Court in Las Vegas with regard to multiple alleged trademark infringements.
The case has been brought against the owners or alleged owners of various domains including mgmpoker.com and ariapoker.com.
According to Nevada news website Vegas Inc, the lawsuit claims that the defendants “intended to profit off the casinos’ ‘substantial fame, goodwill and consumer recognition.'”
The site also suggests that a successful resolution would ensure “There’s no confusion in cyberspace about ownership of the sites” ahead of any potential US online poker regulation.
Upon signing a partnership with bwin.party in October, it was revealed that upon the passage of US regulation the online operator and MGM would “jointly offer” an online poker product.
It was suggested at the time that an eventual US-facing network would include bwin.party’s existing brands (such as PartyPoker and World Poker Tour) as well as those of US land-based partners MGM and Boyd Gaming, and a resolution with regard to the mgmpoker.com domain would appear to pave the way for its use by the newly formed JV.