Bosley Medical Institute, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, and Bosley Medical Group, S.C., an Illinois Corporation v. Michael Steven Kremer

Defendant Michael Kremer was dissatisfied with the hair restoration services provided to him by the Bosley Medical Institute, Inc. In a bald-faced effort to get even, Kremer started a website at www.BosleyMedical.com, which, to put it mildly, was uncomplimentary of the Bosley Medical Institute. The problem is that “Bosley Medical” is the registered trademark of the Bosley Medical Institute, Inc., which brought suit against Kremer for trademark infringement and like claims. Kremer argues that noncommercial use of the mark is not actionable as infringement under the Lanham Act. Bosley responds that Kremer is splitting hairs.

Like the district court, we agree with Kremer. We hold today that the noncommercial use of a trademark as the domain name of a website — the subject of which is consumer commentary about the products and services represented by the mark— does not constitute infringement under the Lanham Act.

Bosley Medical’s cybersquatting claim is another matter. The issue under the Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act was whether Kremer had a “bad faith intent to profit” from the use of the trademark in his domain name, such as by making an extortionate offer to sell…