REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 10, 2005 — Microsoft Corp. and Pfizer Inc, the maker of Viagra®
(sildenafil citrate), today announced the companies are filing parallel lawsuits against two international pharmacy spam rings operating Web sites that allegedly sell illegal, purportedly generic versions of Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction (ED) medication. The legal actions are the result of a seven-month investigation during which the two industry leaders collaborated to track down the alleged illegal drug distributors operating these Web sites as well as the spammers advertising them.
The two companies have filed a total of 17 new actions against defendants allegedly involved in the sale and advertising of potentially dangerous medications. Pfizer has filed civil actions against two Web sites that allegedly promote and sell products that are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pfizer also filed 10other domain name actions.
In conjunction with Pfizer’s suits against CanadianPharmacy and E-Pharmacy Direct, Microsoft filed civil actions against the spammers advertising for those Web sites. In addition, Microsoft filed three suits against spammers who advertise other online pharmacies known under a variety of names, such as Discount RX, Virtual RX and EzyDrugStore.com. Together, these pharmacy spam rings have allegedly sent hundreds of millions of e-mail messages to Microsoft’s MSN® Hotmail®
customers within the past year alone. The defendants allegedly use illegal and deceptive e-mail techniques that violate the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and other state and federal laws.
“The collaboration between Pfizer and Microsoft is another wake-up call to those who abuse the Internet for illegal purposes. Leading businesses are teaming up, pooling resources and sharing investigative information to stop this illegal activity at the source,” said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft. “At Microsoft we are combating this problem in every way we can, including with legal action, to help ensure that our consumers are protected from fraud.”
“As the maker of Viagra, the market leader in erectile dysfunction, Pfizer is committed to protecting the public from health and other risks associated with the illegal sale of fake and unapproved generic products claiming to be Viagra,” said Jeff Kindler, executive vice president and general counsel at Pfizer. “Pfizer is joining with Microsoft on these actions as part of our shared pledge to reduce the sale of these products and to fight the senders of unsolicited e-mail that overwhelms people’s inboxes.”
Pfizer and Microsoft first investigated CanadianPharmacy, an online “pharmacy” advertised by high-volume spamming. Working together, the companies’ investigators uncovered a highly sophisticated spam ring with several groups of affiliates all advertising Web sites associated with CanadianPharmacy. The spam directs recipients to one of dozens of identical Web sites. Many of these Web sites are registered with the true names and addresses of people not associated with the online pharmacies or spam rings, who are unaware that their identities are being used in conjunction with these activities. Tracing the order process, investigators determined that the Web site encompasses an allegedly illegal pharmaceutical supply chain that spans the globe. Consumers place orders for drugs advertised as Viagra or illegal “generic” Viagra on one of several Web sites advertised via spam. Once the consumers’ online orders are received on computers in New York, they are sent to a call center headquartered in Canada, and then on to India for processing. The orders are filled with allegedly illegal, unregulated and unapproved products. The drugs are then shipped from India to the United States and delivered by an air freight forwarding company based in the United States.
According to some industry estimates, Viagra and similar drugs are estimated to account for up to one out of four spam messages. Many of these spam messages link to illegal Web sites that promote “Viagra” and then send the consumer an illegal version of the drug. Purchasing illegal generic “Viagra” can pose safety and financial risks to consumers. These products may be manufactured in unregulated factories or back rooms that do not share the same rigorous standards for pharmaceutical manufacturing required by the FDA. These illegal drugs may be contaminated, may not work as claimed, or may have no effect at all.
More information about purchasing safe ED products online can be found at http://www.viagra.com .
Overview of Pfizer’s Legal Action
The two lawsuits allege unlawful conduct involving trademark infringement and dilution and unfair competition under both federal and state law, as well as deceptive trade practices in violation of New York state law. The complaints also allege that the defendants are selling and importing non-FDA approved sildenafil citrate in violation of U.S. law, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Pfizer Inc is filing lawsuits against the following two entities:
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CanadianPharmacy, doing business as cndpharmacy.com
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E-Pharmacy Direct, doing business as myepharmacydirect.com
The identities of the individuals controlling the sites are unknown and are therefore referred to in the complaints as John Does. Subpoenas directed to various Internet service providers (ISPs) and other companies will help ascertain their true identities.
Additionally, 10 Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) actions were filed against heavily trafficked sites to seize domain names allegedly using Pfizer’s Viagra trademark in an unauthorized manner. All allege that the respondents are using the Viagra mark in bad faith to sell a product that has not been approved by the U.S. FDA.
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http://www.half-priceviagra.com
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http://www.cheapviagrastore.com
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http://www.viagra.com.ua
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http://www.freeviagraclub.com
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http://www.freegenericviagra.com
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http://www.viagrastories.com
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http://www.shopviagra.com
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http://www.cheap-on-line-viagra.com
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http://www.viagrarecords.com
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http://www.bioviagra.com
Overview of Microsoft’s Legal Action
Microsoft filed two suits against the spammers promoting CanadianPharmacy and E-Pharmacy Direct, in conjunction with Pfizer’s suits against the operators of these online pharmacies. Microsoft’s lawsuits allege that the pharmacy spammers sent e-mail with deceptive and misleading information in violation of the federal CAN-SPAM Act and other federal and state laws. Because of the deceptive techniques employed by the defendants to mask their true identities, Microsoft’s suits name John Does as defendants. Microsoft will issue subpoenas to ISPs and other companies to identify and locate the spammers.
Microsoft filed three additional suits against spammers promoting the following online pharmacies:
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DiscountRX
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Virtual RX
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EzyDrugStore.com
About Microsoft
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