Albany (N.Y.) Med Health System has filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Nurses Association, alleging improper use of its trademark and domain name, according to court documents accessed by Becker's.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 15 in federal court, accuses the union of trademark infringement, domain name misappropriation, and actions that harm Albany Med's reputation.
Albany Med alleges that during contract negotiations, the union used its trademarks, "Albany Medical Center" and "Albany Med," without authorization in commerce, including prominently on the union's website, AlbanyMedQualityCare.org.
"Such unauthorized and infringing uses tend to blur the Albany Medical Center word mark and the Albany Med word mark," the lawsuit states. "For example, [the] defendant has published the website AlbanyMedQualityCare.org, where it has used the designation 'albanymedqualitycare.'"
The lawsuit further alleges that the union "engaged in, conspired with others, induced others to engage in, and facilitated an advertising campaign using the website AlbanyMedQualityCare.org regarding plaintiff."
Albany Med claims the union's actions aim to mislead consumers into falsely believing an affiliation or sponsorship exists between the hospital and the union when that is not the case.
In a Nov. 22 news release, NYSNA called the lawsuit "baseless" and described it as "the latest attempt to silence nurses speaking out about the staffing crisis."
The union said it launched the campaign website AlbanyMedQualityCare.org earlier this year as part of an effort to inform the public about what it considers unsafe staffing levels at the hospital. According to Albany Med's lawsuit, the union registered the domain name AlbanyMedQualityCare.org in 2020.
NYSNA alleges that Albany Med management is trying to shut down the union's publicity campaign amid ongoing contract negotiations.
"NYSNA nurses at Albany Med refuse to be silenced, and the union's legal team will vigorously defend this meritless lawsuit," the union said.
Union members have been in negotiations with hospital management since April, with staffing levels continuing to be a key sticking point.