Wendy's Sues Alleged Cyberpirate

Wendy's International embarked on a lawsuit this week to bring an end to an alleged cyberpiracy extortion scheme.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, accuses Brenan Hofstader and his company, Beswick Adams Corp., of registering Web sites in the Wendy's name and trying to sell them back to the fast-food chain.

It is alleged that Hofstader planned to pilfer money from the chain and approximately 10 other U.S. companies including, Taco Bell, Coca-Cola and McDonald's.

The restaurant powerhouse hopes the injunction will prevent Hofstader from using any Wendy's trademark names on the Net.

It is believed Hofstader registered Web sites under the names www.Wendys.org, www.WendysRestaurant.com and WendysIntlInc.com with domain registrar Network Solutions Inc. (NSOL)

The suit claims a worker at Beswick Adams sent a letter on March 14 to Gordon F. Teter, Wendy's president and chief executive officer, offering to sell the Web names.

Wendy's (WEN) fears the company might sell the Web names to someone else,according to the suit.