Alex Kraus, who operated the nine-year-old site from his home in Maryland, was issued with a cease & desist notice after registering the doloresoriordan.com domain name and using it to direct people to Zombieguide.com.
In a strongly worded letter, Brian D. Caplan claims that Kraus’ actions “constitute Federal Unfair Competition, False Endorsement, False Advertising and Trademark Infringement under Federal Law, and violations of applicable State laws governing False Advertising and Unfair Competition.”
Kaplan concludes by saying that “both
injunctive relief and monetary damages” would be sought if Kraus fails to comply with the notice.
The Zombieguide.com webmaster’s response is to pull the plug on the site, which has been operating for nine years.
“So Dolores O’Riordan-Burton is threatening to sue me,” he rues. “Great. I think it’s about time I quit this Zombieguide thing. After all, if Mrs. Burton doesn’t appreciate this site, what’s the point in continuing to promote her career?
“I have been operating under the impression that (a) I have a fair use right to operate a fan site at the domain doloresoriordan.com; (b) that this is a non-commercial site; and (c) that the existence of a fansite at doloresoriordan.com does not harm Mrs. Burton’s career – and in fact promotes it.
“I am not sure what damages Burton seeks,” he continues, “because as far as I know, this site has done nothing but support her career and provide a place for thousands of fans to discuss the works of The Cranberries and related projects. As per Mrs. Burton’s apparent wishes, the most popular online forums for discussing her band and solo career are now closed.”