Citicorp, Inc. Subject of Counterclaims Filed Today by CITICREDIT for Trademark and Trade Name Infringement.

Business Editors & Legal Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2000

CITICREDIT(SM) Alleges Citicorp, Inc. Took Its Name Without

Permission and Now Seeks Dismissal of Case and Damages

Citicredit filed counterclaims on Friday in U.S. District Court, Northern District Central District of California, San Jose Division, against Citicorp, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C), for trademark and trade name infringement, unfair competition and false advertising.

The counterclaims allege that Citicorp, Inc.'s current use of their Citicredit service mark has caused mass confusion and irreparable harm to their business. Citicredit seeks damages in an unspecified amount, an injunction, cancellation of Citicorp, Inc.'s pending trademark applications for registration of the CITICREDIT service mark, and dismissal of the case. Judge Ronald M. Whyte presides over the case entitled Citicorp, Inc. vs. Citicredit (Case No. 00-20585 RMW). Citicredit is represented by William E. Levin, a partner with the Laguna Beach, Calif. law firm of Levin & Hawes, LLP.

On January 27, 1997, Citicredit registered its CITICREDIT name as an Internet domain name and began using it as a service mark in connection with its online mortgage lending services. On February 21, 1997, the company filed appropriate papers with the California Secretary of State, and changed its corporate name from California Finance and Mortgage, Inc. to CITICREDIT. It has acquired common law trademark rights in the CITICREDIT(SM) service mark for mortgage lending. They have also filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for registration of the CITICREDIT service mark in International Class 36 for mortgage lending and related services.

For nearly four years, the Counter-plaintiff has invested all its resources to promote and build goodwill for its CITICREDIT(SM), which has become synonymous with affordable, high-quality mortgage loan services. They allege in the complaint that if Counter-defendant Citicorp, Inc. is allowed to adopt the mark it applied for on July 14, 1999 with the USPTO (Trademark Application No. 75/749815) for consumer lending, it will cause massive confusion among Citicredit's customers, vendors and the general public.

"There is no foundation for the original lawsuit filed against my company," said Amarjit S. Walia, a co-founder of Citicredit, "and that's why we have filed this counterclaim. We were there first, fair and square, and will not be intimidated by a corporate behemoth. We will do whatever it takes to defend our name and hard earned reputation."

"A cursory Internet search by Citicorp, Inc. would have shown them that my client already had prior use of the Citicredit name," said William E. Levin. "In the past, Citicorp has claimed that they own anything with the word `citi' in it. They don't have any such monopoly and aren't standing on terra firma in this case. For justice to prevail, their complaint should be dismissed, and Citicorp should be immediately enjoined from using Citicredit's service mark to prevent, once and for all, any further confusion."

Citicredit is an online consumer lending business based in San Jose, Calif. and Las Vegas. For more information about the company, call the company at 800/935-6266 or visit its Web site at: www.citicredit.com.