Juno Announces Breakthrough in Spam Lawsuit Against TCPS

Ad-backed e-mail service and ISP Juno Online
Services said it successfully located alleged spammer Ronald Alvin, calling him “the
elusive chief of
alleged porn marketer TCPS Inc.,” and successfully served court papers on
him at his Brooklyn, NY residence.

As a result, Juno said it expects its four-month old, million-dollar lawsuit
against TCPS, Alvin, and Financial Planning Associates, another affiliate of
Alvin, to proceed to a jury trial soon in federal court in New York.

Juno filed a federal lawsuit in May seeking damages against a number of
defendants it alleges forged the Juno name into unsolicited commercial e-
mail. The suit claims TCPS flooded the Internet with hundreds of thousands
of unsolicited e-mail messages touting sexually explicit videotapes.

“A large number of ISPs and a larger number of individual users of the
Internet have been victimized by TCPS, but until now no one has been able to
take effective action against this spammer. I am pleased that Juno was finally
able to locate Ron Alvin, and I know we will have broad support across the
Internet for our efforts to put an end to TCPS’ pernicious and ongoing spam
campaigns,” said Richard Buchband, senior vice president and general counsel
of Juno.

In its lawsuit against TCPS and others, Juno notes that the practices of
spammers caused interference with its business and the use and enjoyment
of its services by legitimate subscribers. Juno is seeking punitive damages in
excess of $1 million against TCPS and Alvin for damage to Juno’s reputation,
as well as damages for federal trademark infringement, false designation of
origin, fraud, and unjust enrichment. Additionally, the suit asks the court to
grant a preliminary and permanent injunction.

Juno said it is the world’s second largest provider (after America Online) of
dial-up Internet services. More than 5.7 million Juno accounts have been
created since its launch, and approximately 250,000 new accounts are created
every month.