For my family, friends, clients, and court reporting colleagues that have been following my efforts related to my competitor’s registration and use of www.lisamigliore.com, I have some disappointing news to report.
As many of you know, Migliore & Associates was successful in obtaining the return of the domain name www.lisamigliore.com in an arbitration before the World Intellectual Property Organization (the domain name court). We then filed suit in court against that competitor seeking in part to obtain those costs and expenses in getting the domain name away from them. We were initially successful in fending off a motion to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment. The Judge also denied my competitor’s motion for a verdict after we presented our case over the past few days.
Unfortunately, the jury came back today with some answers in the jury interrogatories that disposed of my case. The jury found that I did not present enough evidence to establish that Migliore & Associates had common law “trademark” protection in the “Migliore” name.
Needless to say, we are very disappointed with the decision. We had presented evidence that I was the only “Migliore” court reporter or “Migliore” court reporting business in the country and had been doing this for nearly 18 years. Despite the loss, we can make this a positive learning experience for others and talk about ways to protect your business and professional names. The even better news is that we still have the domain name and use it in association with the business.
There are many people to thank:
- First and foremost, my husband, David Black and the staff at Dinsmore who worked so very hard to vigorously defend me
- My mom and dad for teaching me to have integrity and to stand up for what I believe in
- My friends Gretta and Pat, who showed up in person to show their support
- My colleagues Rick Coulter and Ann LeRoy, who sacrificed a day of work to give testimony in this matter
- The Judges and staff who gave me my day in court
- Alan Wernecke, a perfect example of professionalism as our official stenographic court reporter
Trials are tough work. Personally, I’m looking forward to putting this behind me and getting a good night’s sleep.
Lisa Migliore Black, Migliore & Associates, Louisville Court Reporting and Video Services. Free conference rooms in the heart of downtown Louisville, KY 40202. All rights reserved.