Slipknot Sues to Transfer Slipknot.com over Counterfeit Merchandise

Slipknot has filed a federal lawsuit seeking ownership of the domain slipknot.com, alleging an anonymous registrant has held the address since 2001 and used it to advertise counterfeit merchandise. The suit, filed October 15 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, asks a judge to transfer the domain to the band and to award unspecified damages.

According to the complaint, the registrant has routed visitors from slipknot.com to pay‑per‑click advertisements and sponsored links that lead to counterfeit versions of the band's merchandise, including masks, T-shirts and sweatshirts bearing Slipknot trademarks. The band says those links have siphoned sales from its official store, which operates on the alternate domain slipknot1.com, and have confused fans seeking authorized products. The complaint asserts claims under the Anti‑Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, as well as trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Slipknot’s lawyer Craig Reilly is quoted in the filing as saying, "The domain name was registered in an effort to profit off of plaintiff's goodwill and to trick unsuspecting visitors under the impression they are visiting a website...