Goldman, Sachs v. Morgan [1]

Banking and securities firm Goldman, Sachs & Co. sent a cease-and-desist letter [2] to blogger Michael Morgan alleging that his websites infringed the firm's "Goldman Sachs" trademark.  The websites -- www.goldmansachs666.com and www.goldmansachs13.com -- serve as [3] "an open forum for facts and discussion about what part Goldman Sachs and their executives played in the current Global Economic Crisis."  Morgan, a registered investment adviser, criticized the firm in site postings.

Goldman Sachs' letter alleges that the sites' domain names and content infringe the "Goldman Sachs" mark, violate other intellectual property rights, and constitute unfair competition.  The letter also alleges that Morgan's use of the mark gives the false impression that Morgan has an affiliation or commercial relationship with Goldman Sachs.

In response, Morgan filed a lawsuit for declaratory judgment [4] in Florida federal court.  Morgan asked the court to declare that Morgan's websites and domain names did not infringe Goldman Sachs' trademark rights.  Morgan's Complaint also asked for declaratory judgment on Goldman Sachs' other claims.

Update:

7/17/09 - MediaPost reported [5] that the parties settled, with Morgan agreeing to withdraw his lawsuit and Goldman Sachs promising not to sue, provided that Morgan continues to run a disclaimer on the site.