11th Circuit decision on ACPA (i.e., cybersquatting) damages

The Eleventh Circuit recently held that statutory damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(d) for violations of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d)):

1. are designed to punish cybersquatters and deter future violations; and, as such
2. may be ordered in the absence of any actual damages; and
3. are not duplicative of any actual damages awarded under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a) for infringement or unfair competition.

The case is St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute. P.A. v. Sanderson, No. 08-11848 (11th Cir. July 9, 2009).