Hit ’em where it hurts
According to an article on CNN.com, L.L. Bean has discovered that people visiting their website were being served pop-up ads – from their competition. Not an uncommon occurence, however L.L. Bean’s response is: they are suing the owners of the ads.
By creating ads that appear when Internet users visit L.L. Bean’s Web site, retailers Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, Atkins and Gevalia have traded on the company’s name and infringed on its trademark rights, said Mary Lou Kelley, vice president for E-commerce at L.L. Bean.
“These advertisers are illegally poaching on L.L. Bean’s trademark,” Kelley said. “Using our trademarked name as a trigger to which you want to serve your ads causes customer confusion and crosses the line into trademark infringement.”
L.L. Bean is taking a new approach here by suing the customers of Claria Corp, the company that codes the tracking and pop-up malware.
Kick ’em right in the pocket, boys!
Hollerings