A London estate agent has been ordered to pay £15,000 in damages to a rival after setting up a fake website in its name and diverting it to porn sites.
The high court has ordered SW19 Estate Agents to pay eddisonwhite £15,000 in damages for trademark infringement and passing off.
SW19, run by Luke Bennett, admitted the charges at a hearing last June. Legal costs have yet to be finalised.
Bennett bought the eddisonwhite.com domain name in November 2005 and used it to direct visitors to the websites of other estate agents in the area, to SW19’s own estate agency website, and to other sites containing pornographic images.
Bennett offered to sell eddisonwhite the domain, but it refused to buy it.
The website was only taken down in 2008 when eddisonwhite, which uses the domain name eddisonwhite.co.uk, began legal proceedings.
Joint owner Richard Eddison said: “I am relieved and happy that this ordeal is over. It has been difficult for us and for those who were subjected to some truly awful images thanks to Mr Bennett’s antics.
“For a professional service business to act in this way is beyond contempt and does little to challenge preconceived ideas the public may have about our profession.”
Luke Bennett was unavailable for comment.
