A law firm is suing a self-proclaimed Canadian cyber security developer over alleged cybersquatting, trademark infringement and unlawful interception of communications.
The Gioconda Law Group PLLC, which is based in New York, has filed against Arthur Wesley Kenzie in federal court in Manhattan.
With the defendant accused of violating a number of federal laws, the firm is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
It claims Mr. Kenzie has registered the domain name GiocondoLaw.com as a confusing misspelling of GiocondaLaw.com, the firm’s genuine web address.
The Gioconda Law Group also claims he intentionally constructed fake email accounts to intercept private messages sent to the firm’s lawyers and staff.
“We discovered the cybersquatting and sent several test email messages to see if they were delivered to the misspelled email addresses, and indeed, they were received by active mailboxes,” said attorney Joseph C. Gioconda.
Mr. Kenzie was previously found responsible for cybersquatting when he purchased the confusingly similar domain names LockheedMarton.com and LockheedMartun.com in July 2011.
He claimed to be performing research about Lockheed’s email vulnerabilities without the firm’s permission – however this defense was thrown out by a panel of judges.