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The US District Court for the Southern District of New York on November 6, 2019, held Imtiyaz Siddiqi, a man doing business as Global Telecommunications and Global Communications, liable for contributory and vicarious trademark infringement for his part in a scheme which defrauded hundreds of DISH Network subscribers. Dish Network L.L.C. v. Siddiqi, S.D.N.Y., No. 7:18-cv-04397, 11/6/19.

Beginning in early 2016, hundreds of Dish Network subscribers received calls from a group of Pakistan-based scammers falsely identifying themselves as Dish agents. The scammers told subscribers their equipment needed upgrades if they wanted to continue receiving programming. Siddiqi then processed the payments made to the callers and received 20% of the proceeds.

Siddiqi was found liable for contributory trademark infringement because he knew of the scammers’ direct trademark infringement and enabled it with his processing services. He was also found liable for vicarious trademark infringement because he and the callers “each exercised control over the scheme,” the court said.