Pldt Case Study
I. Background Information
In 2000, telephone giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. filed a lawsuit against “pldt.com”, a website dedicated for free speech, for P 1.35 M in damages for use of domain name. The telecommunication company charged Gerry Kaimo, webmaster and registered owner of the domain name, and Philippines League for Democratic Telecommunications Inc. (PLDTI) for trademark infringement and engaging in unfair competition.
The telecommunication giant claimed that the said website has codes and meta tags that have led clients more to the “pldt.com” web site, whose contents articles, features, illustrations are derogatory and tend to discredit the telephone company.
On the other hand, Kaimo does not deny the fact that www.pldt.com does contain material unpalatable to PLDT. “I set up the site in December 1998 for the purpose of providing a vehicle to intensify public awareness on PLDT’s proposal for a mandatory local metering scheme”, he says.
Furthermore, “pldt.com” has since evolved into a parody site, serving as a forum for expressing and ventilating consumer gripes and dissatisfaction with PLDT’s inefficient service, and venue for personal commentary and political satire on other burning issues.
What Kaimo denies is PLDT’s allegations of unfair competition and tradename dilution in a deliberate attempt to confuse or deceive customers. He notes that he is not selling telephones or even profiting from the site. To distinguish it from the PLDT Web site, the non-commercial “pldt.com” site even carries this disclaimer: “100% Pure Pinoy: Unadulterated angst, pain, horror, tears, rumors, laughter and lies for the whole family or your money back”.
To PLDT though, “pldt.com” is anything but a free speech site, and its suit a suppression of the Constitutionally guaranteed right. “This has nothing to do with freedom of speech,” Antonio Samson, PLDT executive vice chairman, says. “It is an unlawful appropriation and use of the PLDT trade name and a
In 2000, telephone giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. filed a lawsuit against “pldt.com”, a website dedicated for free speech, for P 1.35 M in damages for use of domain name. The telecommunication company charged Gerry Kaimo, webmaster and registered owner of the domain name, and Philippines League for Democratic Telecommunications Inc. (PLDTI) for trademark infringement and engaging in unfair competition.
The telecommunication giant claimed that the said website has codes and meta tags that have led clients more to the “pldt.com” web site, whose contents articles, features, illustrations are derogatory and tend to discredit the telephone company.
On the other hand, Kaimo does not deny the fact that www.pldt.com does contain material unpalatable to PLDT. “I set up the site in December 1998 for the purpose of providing a vehicle to intensify public awareness on PLDT’s proposal for a mandatory local metering scheme”, he says.
Furthermore, “pldt.com” has since evolved into a parody site, serving as a forum for expressing and ventilating consumer gripes and dissatisfaction with PLDT’s inefficient service, and venue for personal commentary and political satire on other burning issues.
What Kaimo denies is PLDT’s allegations of unfair competition and tradename dilution in a deliberate attempt to confuse or deceive customers. He notes that he is not selling telephones or even profiting from the site. To distinguish it from the PLDT Web site, the non-commercial “pldt.com” site even carries this disclaimer: “100% Pure Pinoy: Unadulterated angst, pain, horror, tears, rumors, laughter and lies for the whole family or your money back”.
To PLDT though, “pldt.com” is anything but a free speech site, and its suit a suppression of the Constitutionally guaranteed right. “This has nothing to do with freedom of speech,” Antonio Samson, PLDT executive vice chairman, says. “It is an unlawful appropriation and use of the PLDT trade name and a
References: 1. PLDT loses dispute over 'pldt.com ' domain name, PLDT loses dispute over 'pldt.com ' domain name http://www.inq7.net/brk/2004/feb/03/brkinf_1-1.htm 2. PLDT vs pldt.com http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-10617.html 3. PLDT loses dispute over 'pldt.com ' domain name, Erwin Lemuel G. Oliva, http://www.inq7.net/brk/2004/feb/03/brkinf_1-1.htm 4. Law of the Internet dispute, David W. Quinto, http://books.google.com/books?id=o1DEiNG15e4C&pg=SA5-PA65&dq=Gerardo+Kaimo&hl=en&ei=vdVJTvjBB-T7mAWTusHnBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Gerardo%20Kaimo&f=false 5. http://www.phnix.net/notometering/pldti-counter.html 6. http://www.msc.edu.ph/wired/this-12b.html 7. http://www.chinwong.com/index.php?/site/comments/pldt_kaimo_settle_6_year_pldtcom_suit/ 8. http://www.pcij.org/imag/Online/pldt2.html 9. PLDT.com issue settled, Chin Wong, http://www.pinoytechblog.com/archives/pldtcom-issue-settled