Lawsuit about political tricks to discredit the No Labels movement playing out in Delaware
Dirty tricks designed to dissuade voters from embracing the No Labels political movement were the topic of legal wrangling in a federal courtroom in Delaware on Thursday.
The issue centered on a copycat No Labels website created by political operatives to mimic and confuse people wanting to visit the site of the bipartisan group trying to add a third-party candidate to the upcoming presidential race.
After an almost three-hour hearing that was heavy on recorded depositions from people involved in creating NoLabels.com Inc., U.S. District Judge Gregory B. Williams entered a preliminary injunction keeping the copycat website off the internet.
No Labels, which uses a website with ".org" at the end of its domain, filed a lawsuit late last year against the creators of the fake site.
Defendant Charles Siler, creator of the copycat website, was asked in a recorded deposition if he was proud of confusing people.
"It's not a matter of pride," Siler said. "This is what my work is about."
Siler, who received $11,000 from the American Patriots Project to buy and set up the domain, said the site "was intentionally looking to match the aesthetic of the plaintiff."
When launched, NoLabels.com Inc. was not only using a similar name as No Labels' website, but the lawsuit claims the copycat site used a similar oval-shaped button where people could donate to or sign up for mailing lists. There was also a similar color scheme.
Siler said they were going to use the copycat site to find people who support former President Donald J. Trump but who were displeased with the GOP to find voters who are movable between candidates.
As part of that strategy, they inserted white nationalist dog whistles to "short-circuit" credibility with those groups.
Joshua Silver, who is part of the American Patriots Project that got the funding for the copycat website, said he believes No Labels is a dangerous movement because it could re-elect Trump so they worked to make it look like a "right-wing utopia."
The lawsuit was filed in Delaware because the "infringing website" is a corporation organized under Delaware law and claims trademark infringement and cybersquatting — an unauthorized registration and use of an online domain that is identical or similar to trademarks.
Complaints made in the lawsuit
The infringing website makes deceptive use of photographs of candidates who appeared at the No Labels Problem Solver Convention in 2015, including under the heading "NoLabels.com Leaders," to falsely suggest No Labels endorses or supports those candidates, according to the lawsuit.
As the host and organizer of the 2015 Problem Solver Convention, the lawsuit claims, No Labels invited candidates from across the political spectrum and a candidate's attendance at the convention does not imply or suggest No Labels' endorsed the candidate.
"To be clear, No Labels does not object to third parties referencing No Labels when commenting on No Labels' positions or candidates," the lawsuit claims. "Nor does No Labels seek to stifle free political discussion or competing points of view. Indeed, No Labels' own website encourages 'robust debate on the many issues confronting our country' and the organization 'understand[s] that politics is often rough and tumble.'"
What the lawsuit argues is that NoLabels.com Inc. cannot use the No Labels Registered Trademark, and language and imagery "evocative of the legitimate No Labels Website, to attract Internet trafficto an Infringing Website that is designed to mislead and confuse the public, including voters and donors, in order to harm No Labels."
What No Labels seeks from the suit
The centrists organization has been operating since 2010 under the name No Labels and has been using nolables.org domain since 2009. According to the lawsuit, filed in December, No Labels relies on the No Labels website to promote its platform, provide information about its ideas, and publicize future events.
Part of what No Labels seeks in its relief is:
That "nolables.com" be transferred to No Labels.
Awarding No Labels a monetary judgment for NoLabels.com Inc.'s profits, plus the costs of the legal action.
Awarding No Labels damages of no less than $100,000 for the copycat website's violation.
Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware federal judge orders fake No Labels website to stay offline
