Zuffa LLC., the owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was granted a temporary restraining order on Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Nevada against Johnny Tike, preventing his HQ-streams.com Web site from streaming a live webcast of
UFC 118, which take places Saturday at the TD Garden in Boston.
The ruling was first reported by
Fightlawyerblog.com on Thursday.
HQ-streams.com provides regular MMA and pro wrestling live event streams to it patrons, according to its site.
According to Zuffa’s complaint obtained by Sherdog.com, the promoter is also seeking temporary and permanent injunctive relief against Tike and his site for future UFC webcasts, as well damages and attorney costs.
Zuffa alleges HQ-streams.com webcasted, without its permission, UFC 113, held on May 8, and UFC 117 on Aug. 7 to viewers for a $6.99 flat fee or under its $11.99 monthly subscription. Zuffa also alleges the site infringed on its trademark rights by posting UFC marks, including advertisements for the upcoming UFC 118, as well as other marks “nearly identical” and/or “confusingly similar” to its own.
As part of the judges’ temporary ruling, HQ-streams.com was also required to remove said marks and advertisements.
On Friday, the Web site posted this message addressing the issue:
“Too (sic) All Members Of The Forum, There won't be any UFC 118 stream here this Saturday. We don't want our site to get into troubles with Zuffa!”
J.R. Riddell contributed to this report. Riddell, an attorney at the global law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, is experienced in various matters related to the business of MMA. A more detailed background regarding his experience is available through his lawyer profile at www.orrick.com. This article does not provide legal advice, and any opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of his law firm. Riddell can be reached at jriddell@sherdog.com.
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