In moving to dismiss claims brought against it for trademark infringement and false designation of origin under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114(1) and 1125(a), Indiaweekly.com, LLC, claimed that the counter-plaintiff, Nehaflix.com, had failed to allege sufficient facts to meet the standard of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 9(b). That rule requires that, "[i]n alleging fraud, ... a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud ...."rnThe US District Court for the District of Connecticut rejected Indiaweekly.com's assertion that such claims were subject to Rule 9(b)'s heightened pleading standard. Nehaflix.com's allegations that Indiaweekly.com placed Nehaflix's trademark on Indiaweekly.com to draw in search traffic survived the motion to dismiss. It was plausible that potential Nehaflix customers, when searching for the term "Nehaflix," would, upon being directed to another site containing the term and selling competing goods, conclude that the two businesses were related when in fact they were not.
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