ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A battle over who had the first "Red Tube" website is about to heat up.
Bright Imperial Ltd., which owns RedTube.com, has filed a federal lawsuit against the operators of the websites Red-Tube.com and RedTube.net, as well as 27 of their other similar "red tube" sites.
It's the third cybersquatting suit Bright Imperial has filed against operators with sites using "red tube" language in their domain names. The company has been successful with all of the suits, including one that had 116 "Red Tube" similar sites.
Bright Imperial's current suit targets Brno, Czech Republic-based RT Media Solutions and its managing director, Walter Olligschlager. It also names Swiss Media Factoring of Zug, Switzerland, which allegedly is operated by Olligschlager.
In the suit, RedTube.com's owner alleges that RT Media controls the 29 URLs because the content and look of the sites are identical.
But, according to the suit, there has been preliminary discussion between the parties, and it appears they are at loggerheads over which company started operating their "Red Tube" site first.
Bright Imperial's RedTube, according to the suit, was launched July 2006 at www.jpds.com/redtube, and in March 2007 it began to operate using its current URL, RedTube.com.
RT Media Solutions, however, contends it started using 'RedTube' name in connection with Red-Tube.com in November 2006, about five months before RedTube.com was lauched.
But Hong Kong-based Bright Imperial said its www.jpds.com/redtube starting date is the one to consider.
By that date, "Bright's 'RedTube' website was already receiving over 286,000 daily visits," the suit said.
Bright Imperial also notes that it holds the "RedTube" trademark in the U.S., Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil and Iceland, and that it owns and operates hundreds of active "RedTube" sites.
Bright Imperial in the suit charges that the defendants use a similar logo, with its colors only modified from red and white to red and gray.
"With only minor additions or modifications, defendants' infringing domains are identical to the 'RedTube' trademark and RedTube's domain name," said the suit, filed at U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. "Defendants' websites, including Red-Tube.com, call themselves 'RedTube' and prominently display the 'RedTube' trademark on each and every page."
Bright Imperial seeks an injunction against the defendants, as well as damages for trademark infringement, conspiracy and dilution. The suit also seeks a transfer of the domain names to Bright Imperial.
The websites targeted in Bright Imperial's suit include RedTube.net, Red-Tube.net, Red-Tube.com, RedTube-Cams.com, RedTube-Cams.net, RedTube-TV.com, RedTube-TV.net, Red-TubeNet.com, RedTube-Flirt.net, RedTube-Flirt.com, RedTubeShop.org, RedTubeShop.net, RedTube-Shop.com, RedTube-Shop.org, RedTube-Shop.us, Red-Tube-Shop.com, Red-Tube-Shop.net, Red-Tube-Shop.org, Red-Tube-Shop.us, RedTube-TestAccount.com, Red-Tube.biz, My-RedTube.com, RedTube24.com, Red-Tube-Porn.net, RedTube24.net, Red-Tube-Porn.net, RedTube24.net, RedTube-Hardcore.com and Reds-Tube.com.
XBIZ was unable to reach Olligschlager for comment.