War Of The Pop-Ups

DETROIT, Mich. – Pop-up advertising company WhenU.com Inc. won its second major victory in court this week when U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds ruled that the online marketing company should not be legally blocked from featuring pop-up ads on competitor's websites.

WhenU prevailed in a similar lawsuit filed by trucking company U-Haul in September of this year. The New York-based company has also been sued by Weight Watchers and Overstock.com.

Litigants in the case were Wells Fargo & Co. and Quicken Loans who both claimed that WhenU's aggressive and highly competitive pop-up marketing campaign hindered their own marketing campaigns for home loans and financial service.

WhenU represents financial institutions Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup, among many others.

Additionally, the plaintiffs claimed that WhenU's pop-ups obscured their websites and thereby infringed on trademarks.

The judge, however, failed to see their point, which was that visitors to their respective websites would be confused by the plethora of competing pop-up ads.

The judge stated in her 70-page ruling that users were "unlikely to confuse" the source of the advertisements and that the plaintiffs were not able to convincingly prove their businesses had suffered as a result.

"When WhenU's advertisements pop up and partially overlap plaintiffs' sites on the computer screen, it seems apparent to the user that what is appearing on his or her screen are two distinct sources of material," the judge stated.

WhenU's pop-up software comes bundled with certain free screen saver downloads from file-swapping networks. WhenU claims that users are clearly informed that marketing software is included in the free download and that users can disable it at any time.

Additionally, WhenU claims that its pop-up software does not invade user's privacy, it only tracks their activity on the Internet, and in doing so does not use cookies or profiling.

The judge found that targeting consumers according to interests expressed by their online behavior is a legitimate use of the Internet and she dismissed allegations that WhenU violated the plaintiff's trademarks.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

AEBN Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) is celebrating its 25th year in business this week.

Nebraska Legislature Passes Republican's Age Verification Bill With No Votes Against It

Nebraska’s unicameral legislature has passed the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still have antitrust claims that they may pursue in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have filed a petition before the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit asking to stay its recent upholding the law because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

APClips Names Avery Jane 'Creator of the Month'

APClips has named Avery Jane its Creator of the Month for March.

JustFor.fans Offers Gumroad Users Platform to Sell NSFW Artwork

JustFor.fans (JFF) is offering Gumroad users a platform to sell NSFW artwork after the latter banned adult content.

Show More