Slipknot‘s legal battle against the owner of the Slipknot.com domain has come to an end, for now. The Iowan masked metallers, who officially maintain the slipknot1.com web address as their online home, filed suit against the Slipknot.com domain this past October. The band’s legal representation alleged that the unidentified individual(s) behind that site had been partaking in cybersquatting the domain since 2001, claiming:
“The domain name was registered in an effort to profit off of plaintiff’s goodwill and to trick unsuspecting visitors — under the impression they are visiting a website owned, operated or affiliated with plaintiff — into clicking on web searches and other sponsored links.”
The band’s legal team further argued that the web domain had been hosting pay-for-click advertising that linked visitors to counterfeit Slipknot merchandise among other unauthorized band-related offers. Ultimately, the suit claimed that in doing so, the domain owner has been partaking in trademark infringement and unfair competition,.
Domain Name Wire now report that the band have voluntarily withdrawn their suit. This move comes as a company named Slipknot Online Services has stepped up to legally defend their ownership of the Slipknot.com domain. That company’s legal representation allege that the registrant of the domain was not properly served in a timely fashion by the band’s team and filed for a motion to have the band’s suit dismissed in turn.
The band responded by voluntarily dismissing their claim for now, however, they are able to potentially refile their complaint again should they choose to. As of press time, the Slipknot.com domain is not serving any advertising, instead displaying the message “No valid delivery channels available for this domain.”
