Epic Cash Files Suit Against Zango

On August 26, 2008, Epic Cash LLC filed suit in Santa Clara County Superior Court against Zango, Inc. and the owners of AdultFriendFinder.com for Unfair Business Practices, Unfair Competition, Tortious Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage, Unjust Enrichment, and Conversion.  View a copy of the complaint here. 

 Zango, formerly known as 180Solutions and Hotbar, is an online advertising company that specializes in “pop-up” advertisements. Zango is notorious in the online community for installing its adware on unknowing users’ computers. Once installed on a user’s computer, the Zango Search Assistant surreptitiously monitors the user’s browser for keywords. The keywords are reported back to Zango’s server, which then delivers popup ads that, in some cases, completely obscure the original browser window. The Search Assistant starts automatically when the infected computer starts, then runs in the background. It will also sometimes send the user directly to a Zango client’s website. The toolbar appears at the top of the browser window, and displays a search field, as well as several hot buttons with links to Zango clients tailored to keywords contained on the current website. Zango promotes its advertising services to its clients (online retailers and content providers) as a way to “truly target consumers when they are most interested in products or services.” These clients pay to have their advertisements linked to certain keywords or URL’S. Whenever those keywords appear on an infected user’s computer, or the user inputs a URL on the advertiser’s list, an advertisement for a client that is linked to those keywords or URL will pop up.
 
AdultFriendFinder.com is one of Zango’s biggest clients. Until recently, Epic Cash owned several websites, including EpicCams.com, that competed with AdultFriendFinder.com for traffic. Through use of Zango’s adware, AdultFriendFinder.com and other Zango clients diverted traffic away from Epic Cash sites and converted Epic Cash’s business to their benefit.
 
Epic Cash’s attorney, Gary Jay Kaufman of The Kaufman Law Group, is confident this lawsuit will send a strong message: “Zango and its clients are essentially cyber-parasites, feeding off of others’ goodwill and popularity and poaching a competitor’s potential customers just when they are ready, willing and able to buy. It is the equivalent of Burger King setting up shop inside a McDonald’s and selling Whoppers to anyone asking for a Big Mac. That we are dealing with virtual, rather than brick and mortar, storefronts, does not change the fact that these deceptive and unfair practices are unacceptable. I expect the Court to agree.”