$200k Judgment Against Lead Company

LowerMyBills.com announces judgment in copyright infringement case
By MortgageDaily.com staff
1/23/2006

A California-based mortgage lead company has obtained a $200,000 judgment against an online competitor that copied its ads.

The judgment against NexTag was announced by LowerMyBills.com today.

NexTag copied several ads from LowerMyBills "in order to drive traffic and create interest in NexTag's services," the announcement said. In addition to copyright infringement, NexTag, which the statement said is an "online comparison shopping site," was also accused of false designation of origin and unfair competition.

Santa Monica-based LowerMyBills reportedly filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California during December.

"We believe this is the first time a substantial judgment has been received in a copyright infringement lawsuit involving Internet advertising, setting an important precedent," said Matt Coffin, president and founder of LowerMyBills. "'Copycat' advertisements are confusing and misleading for online consumers, as they knowingly lead them to do business with companies they neither know nor trust."

LowerMyBills, a subsidiary of Experian Interactive which says it is the top-ranking financial advertiser, said it is pursuing similar lawsuits against other lead companies.

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