Tradebank Prevails in Trademark Infringement Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATLANTA (February 13, 2012) Tradebank International Inc. (Tradebank) was granted a permanent injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (the Court) against Defendants Alan Mink and his company The Trade Banc. On January 31, 2012, a ruling was made in favor of Tradebank, the plaintiff. Grounds for the case included Tradebank’s causes of action for common law unfair competition, common law trademark infringement, and violations of the Georgia Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The Court found that Tradebank has a protectable interest in its registered mark “Tradebank” and further found that:

• The Defendants’ use of the name “The Trade Banc” is likely to cause confusion and has, in fact, caused actual confusion in the marketplace.

• The Defendants’ use of the mark “The Trade Banc” infringes upon Tradebank’s registered “Tradebank” registered mark.

• The Defendants’ infringement of Tradebank’s trademark causes irreparable harm, and that Tradebank has no adequate remedy at law to redress such infringement.

Accordingly, the Court stated Tradebank is awarded a monetary judgment on its claim for attorneys’ fees against Defendant.

“I am very glad about the Court’s ruling,” stated Todd Gerry, Sr. VP of Tradebank. “It is an unfortunate circumstance to find someone riding the coat-tails of your company’s successful endeavors in hopes of benefitting financially from it. We intend to follow through, as it is very important to us, to ensure that other companies, including The Trade Banc licensees, no longer infringe upon Tradebank’s intellectual property.”

Mr. Mink, now doing business under the name The Trade Alliance, has been ordered to cease and desist from any use of whatsoever the names “The Trade Banc” and any derivations thereof, including any attempts to license such name or any derivation thereof to any other person or entity. As stated in the permanent injunction, the Defendants shall remove all such names from all of their marketing materials and inform all of their licensees to whom they have purportedly licensed the right to use the name “The Trade Banc” that Defendants have been enjoined from such use and have no right to grant such license.

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