Kessler International v. Citizen Media Law Project [1]

Kessler International ("Kessler") is a forensic accounting and brand protection company, and claims ownership in the USPTO-registered trademark FRAUDBUSTER, in multiple fields related to forensic accounting news and services.

 On March 14, 2012, Kessler sent a a cease and desist letter [2] to the Citizen Media Law Project ("CMLP," the project that operates this threats database), claiming that the CMLP is committing trademark infringement and dilution by hosting a user who selected the username "fraudbuster." The letter demands that the CMLP remove the word "fraudbuster" from the website and pay Kessler for any profits attributable to use of the word "fraudbuster."

On March 21, 2012, the Cyberlaw Clinic [3] at Harvard Law School responded [4] on behalf of the CMLP. The CMLP noted that the word only appears twice on the CMLP website, and is used solely for its non-trademark meaning. The CMLP asserts that trademark law does not prohibit the expressive selection of a username in this context, and also notes several other instances where the public has used the term "fraudbuster" for purposes other than to identify Kessler's services.