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Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009 | 9:38 a.m.
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Attorneys for the Bellagio hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip are demanding that a Canadian company stop doing business as "Bellagio Limousines.''
The Las Vegas resort filed suit Monday against Bellagio Limousines of the Toronto area in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, alleging the company has been infringing on the resort's trademarks by offering "Bellagio'' limousine services and by promoting its services with an Internet Web site.
A request for comment on the allegations was left with the company Tuesday.
In its lawsuit, the Bellagio hotel-casino said that since it opened in 1998, its trademarks "have become distinctive and famous'' worldwide for resort hotel and casino services including concierge and limousine services.
Bellagio hotel-casino attorneys, with the Las Vegas law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, charge that in July 2008, Bellagio Limousines registered an Internet domain name and linked it to a Bellagio Limousines Web site offering limousine services in Canada and the United States.
The hotel-casino attorneys charge that the company also promoted its services with telephone numbers starting with the Los Angeles-area area code of 310 and the toll-free 866 area code to attract customers from Nevada and elsewhere throughout the United States and Canada.
At times, the limousine Web site and the company's vehicles included the Bellagio resort's stylized "B;'' and the Web site included images of the resort and its famous fountains, the lawsuit charges.
"By registering and using a domain name containing the Bellagio marks, defendants were and are attempting to trade on the goodwill of Bellagio,'' the lawsuit charges, adding the defendants' intended to divert customers from the hotel-casino Web site to the limousine company Web site.
The hotel-casino, owned by MGM Mirage, said it took its complaint over the domain name to the National Arbitration Forum in April and that after the defendants failed to respond to the complaint there, the forum ordered an Internet registrar to transfer the allegedly infringing domain name to the Bellagio resort.
"Since the ... decision was rendered, defendants have removed the Bellagio "B'' logo from their Web site, but continue to offer services through their infringing Web site and exploit the goodwill associated with the Bellagio marks,'' the hotel-casino charges.
The lawsuit asserts claims including Internet cybersquatting, trademark infringement and dilution, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.
The suit seeks an injunction prohibiting the defendants from using the hotel-casino trademarks "in commerce or in connection with any business or for any purpose whatsoever;'' and the transfer of the allegedly infringing domain name to the hotel-casino's parent company.
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Yeah redneck, like Las Vegas New Mexico LOL!
Paris France could sue Paris Las Vegas.
Egypt can sue Luxer, England Sue Exclaber, NYC NYNY, and where is the bay at Mandalay?
They can't be serious? You'd think they'd have better things to do with their time. It's in Toronto for crying out loud. How could they possibly be affecting Bellagio's business?!
Bellagio Limousines is owned and operated only in Ontario Canada, but the Bellagio Hotel/MGM feels that they can bully and hurt the hard working people of America, with over 200 companies with the word Bellagio which means beautiful or a City name in Italy they feel they can destroy the lives and companies smaller then them, which they did or will. The have managed to cause the wife of the Canadian company a loss of a child, at 4 months pregnant she was unable to handle the stress of having to start all over after making a name in Ontario in addition working 16+ hours per day and only spending no more than 3 hours with her children under the age of 5 and each and every weekend not seeing her family because of trying to provide the best service to their clients, thus her having a miscarriage because the thought of everything being for nothing or the fact that the lawyers want all their earnings. Is the Bellagio Casino so hard up for money or do they not care what damage they can do to a family and their employees, only operating in Ontario Canada they felt it necessary to destroy people not to mention clients lives, is that justice that they want over their head or the fact a loss of child is justice enough for them, no money in the world can ever replace the loss this woman and her family has had but Bellagio Casino obviously feels that it is not enough and wants what doesn't belong to them. Good luck to all the other 200 companies that bare the name Bellagio beware that they will come after you aswell just to add a trophy on their wall or feel they need to be superior above all smaller companies who just try to put food on their table and pay bills or make a life for their children. Bellagio Limousines are the victims, yet a loss of a child because of Bellagio Casino's actions was not enough now they want to take their homes and life savings and destroy the lives of hard working people. Be proud of yourselves Bellagio Casino and MGM you worked so hard and should be so proud of your accomplishments, who cares who you hurt or destroy along the way.