MGM files lawsuit over Gold Strike casino trademark

MGM Resorts International is suing an Internet poker operator, charging it’s infringing on the Gold Strike casino trademarks.

MGM Resorts filed suit Thursday in federal court in Las Vegas against WorldPokerRewardsClub.com Company Inc. and John George of Blaine, Wash.

The suit says the defendants have websites called goldstrikepoker.com and goldstrikepoker.net and have registered user names containing the Gold Strike name on social network sites including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

The use of the Gold Strike name infringes on MGM Resorts’ trademark covering its Gold Strike hotel-casinos in Jean, Nev., south of Las Vegas; and in Tunica, Miss., the lawsuit alleges.

The suit says attorneys for MGM Resorts in July asked the defendants to cease their allegedly infringing activities and that they voluntarily transfer the allegedly infringing website domain names to MGM Resorts.

The suit says George agreed to change the name of his website to "Gold Rush Poker,’’ but the defendants refused to turn over the website domain names because they are valuable and demanded that MGM Resorts buy them.

MGM Resorts also alleges that after the defendants were confronted by MGM Resorts in July, they filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to obtain trademarks covering the marks "Gold Strike Poker’’ and "Goldstrikepoker.com.’’

That was "a fraudulent attempt to establish some rights in the marks,’’ MGM Resorts alleged in Thursday’s lawsuit.

"By registering and using the goldstrikepoker.com and goldstrikepoker.net domain names, defendants were and are attempting to frustrate or divert Internet traffic intended for the trademark owner and its Gold Strike hotel casinos,’’ charged the lawsuit, which asserts counts of trademark infringement, cybersquatting and unfair competition.

A request for comment on the suit was placed with the defendants.

The MGM Resorts suit was filed by attorneys with the Las Vegas office of the law firm Lewis and Roca LLP.

Legal

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