Gaming company sues Pakistan firm alleging trademark infringement

By Steve Green (contact)

Friday, May 21, 2010 | 9:03 a.m.

Las Vegas gaming company Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. on Thursday sued an Internet firm in Pakistan that Pinnacle says is infringing on trademarks with a website promoting an Indiana casino.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against Pakistan company Eskay SEO and an individual associated with the website, Sultan Shafique.

A request for comment on the lawsuit was placed with the defendants Friday.

The website, www.belterracasino.info, says "One can feel never feel boring because there are multiple things to do here at Belterra Casino Indiana."

The site links to an online casino, which in turn has a section promoting Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

Pinnacle says the Belterra website infringes on its trademarks for the Belterra Casino Resort & Spa, which Pinnacle calls a well-known resort hotel casino in Florence, Ind.

Pinnacle also complained the defendants' Belterra website wrongly suggests that it's sponsored by Pinnacle.

The suit seeks a court order requiring the domain name belterracasino.info to be transferred to Pinnacle and alleges counts of cybersquatting, trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.

"Defendants have registered, trafficked in, and/or used a domain name that is confusingly similar to plaintiff's Belterra marks," the suit alleges. "Defendants have and/or had a bad faith intent to profit from plaintiff's Belterra marks."