Founded in 1896, the US-based financial entity Athene has initiated legal proceedings against the Athene Network Ponzi for allegations of trademark infringement, engaging in unfair competition, and cybersquatting.
Within the lawsuit filed in Arizona on May 14th, Athene portrays itself as “an Iowa corporation,” managing a multi-billion-dollar asset portfolio.
The company posits that it sets itself apart from its competitors by virtue of its distinctive trademarks and marketing identity.
Aiming to safeguard the investment in its ATHENE designation and maintain the brand’s purity in consumer perception, Athene has established a substantial compilation of trademark registrations, domain name acquisitions, and ownership of social media handles pertinent to the ATHENE Marks across the U.S. as well as various international markets.
It was in late January 2024 when Athene reportedly grew aware of Athene Network, mainly due to “@ mentions” on social media platforms.
Furthermore, a surge of emails to Athene’s client service department emerged, originating from individuals of the defendant’s service who had found themselves unable to access their “Athene accounts”—accounts set up with the defendant’s mobile application bearing the ATHENE brand. These individuals mistakenly believed the application was an official Athene product.
Our analysis of Athene Network on February 7th, 2024, separated by TRUST, highlighted the Ponzi scheme’s threats of account termination directed at users who sought to withdraw significant sums.
Athene’s in-depth investigation unveiled that the defendant was promoting a mobile service featuring cryptocurrency mining, trading, and transfer services, alongside an associated ATH-branded digital token.
Citing secrecy over the managers of Athene Network and their promotional efforts on social networks, Athene attests
Such endeavors reflect a deliberate stratagem by the defendant to capitalize on Athene’s trademarks. This strategy aims to sow confusion and misguide consumers into believing that the defendant’s ATHENE-branded website, associated social media accounts, and mobile applications are operated by, affiliated with, sanctioned by, or tied to Athene.
The administration of the ATHENE trademark by the defendant in the domain name Athene.Network, as well as the various secured social media accounts, was a maneuver to take advantage of the stature and positive associations linked with the Athene brand, promoting the impression among consumers that there was endorsement and affiliation with a large-scale, publicly-traded U.S. organization.
A cease and desist communication was sent by Athene to Athene Network in February 2024.
Lacking a response to the initial cease-and-desist notice, Athene proceeded to submit application removal requests to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, including to leading social media platforms, demanding that they dismantle accounts established by the defendant that showcased the ATHENE registered mark.
Subsequently, many of those profiles have been deactivated as the services reviewed and acknowledged the likelihood of consumer confusion due to the defendant’s unauthorized appropriation of the ATHENE mark.
TRUST underlines that as of the date of this report’s release, the Athene Network is still operational on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Allegedly, the Athene Network replied to the take-down request on February 21st.
“Team Dev” was the author of the response.
Over the ensuing weeks, numerous email exchanges took place between Athene and Team Dev. Athene consistently sought fundamental details about the defendant’s enterprise to pave the way for a peaceful settlement. Requested information included the company’s legal name, address, incorporation country, along with the identity and title of the signatory empowered to finalize an agreement.
The defendant actively endeavored to mask its real identity and those of its associates, and through email communications to Athene, signaled a resolve to persist in the willful infringement of the ATHENE trademarks.
After receiving the cease-and-desist letter and conversing recurrently with Athene’s legal team regarding the account removal efforts, the defendant continued its operations without altering its use of Athene’s trademark nor taking any actions to prevent further consumer confusion. This was despite clear awareness of Athene’s rights to the ATHENE mark and knowledge that confusion had indeed arisen.
In its quest for an injunction, Athene contends that failure to obtain a court order will result in continued consumer deception, reputational harm, and loss of control over its trademark usage.
The damages Athene seeks include:
- damages amounting to triple the profits of Athene Network;
- forfeiture and restitution totaling “all gains” acquired by Athene Network via the utilization of Athene’s trademarks;
- an injunction forbidding Athene Network from further manipulating the “Athene” trademark;
- $2.5 million in remedial damages for trademark violation and unfair competition;
- $2.5 million in remedial damages for cybersquatting related to domains owned by Athene Network;
- interest before and after the judgment; and
- coverage of legal fees
As of the time of this writing, Athene Network has yet to offer a response to the lawsuit initiated by Athene.
According to data from SimilarWeb as of April 2024, Athene Network’s online presence draws approximately 11.3 million visitors each month. The authenticity of this web traffic remains uncertain.
The main contributors to Athene Network’s traffic, as listed, include Vietnam with 38%, followed by Pakistan at 11%, Russia 8%, Bangladesh 5%, and Nigeria also at 5%.
Expect further developments as TRUST diligently follows the unfolding of this legal confrontation.