In a trademark infringement case, how difficult and expensive is it to get a court order?

This is an excellent question and one I get very often. You are correct in that the standard is, is the new mark likely to cause confusion in the marketplace. Given that your trademark is registered and pre-dates the new usage of this third party and that their usage is in the same industry, the likelihood of confusion is high. Based upon your statement of facts, I believe you would have valid claims for trademark infringement against both the owner of the third party using your name and the website allowing the infringing posts and possibly even the ISP of the website for contributory trademark infringement. Because you fall under the Lanham Act, you would have the possibility of recovering triple damages, plus costs and attorney fees. I would begin by sending a cease and desist letter to the infringers as this would be the most cost effective method of securing their compliance. If this did not secure their compliance, I would file a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction baring them from using the name. The cost of a cease and desist is relatively low, about $500. The cost of obtaining an injunction (court order) can be substantial. I always try to get these matters resolved before fees get to high, but remember, attorneys fees may be recoverable against the third party infringer.

Send a copy of your Certificate of Registered Trademark to the infringing parties along with a cease and desist letter. If they refuse to cooperate, you will have to file suit in federal court, prove that you own the trademark, that the other parties either infringed on your mark or created and used a mark so similar as to cause confusion for consumers, and that you have suffered harm as a result. This can be expensive and time-consuming.

The website owner and the site host must be very foolish not to remove the posts if you have a trademark that is actually registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office. First, have a lawyer send them emails including your trademark registration number and proof that the trademark is the same as what the anonymous user is using. Demand that the posts be removed. It may be expensive to go into court, but you will be asking the court not only for a court order, but for damages and attorney fees against the website owner and the site host, and you will be going in with proof they have refused to remove trademark violations. Intentional trademark violation can be criminal, so they are quite mistaken in refusing to remove this if it is in fact a registered trademark and in fact a violation of it.