Microsoft sued over Bing name |
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Microsoft sued over Bing name
A company called Bing! Information Design in St. Louis has sued Microsoft for trademark infringement, alleging that the Redmond company's Bing search engine is causing confusion and diluting the value of its own name.
The St. Louis Business Journal has details of the suit, filed this week in St. Louis Circuit Court. The suit (PDF, 9 pages) notes that Bing! Information Design has used the "Bing" name since 2000, and it has an application pending to register the mark.
Microsoft, which rebranded its search engine with the "Bing" name earlier this year, also has applied for a trademark on the word, according to U.S. Patent & Trademark records. The suit seeks monetary damages and an injunction to prevent Microsoft from using the name.
The Redmond company has experience steady increases in its U.S. search market share since introducing Bing earlier this year, attempting to gain ground against search king Google. Microsoft last month surpassed 10 percent market share in the U.S. for the first time in more than two years.
We've contacted Microsoft for comment, and we'll update this post depending on the response.
Update: Here's Microsoft's statement, via a company representative. Not surprisingly, Microsoft isn't about to roll over on this one.
"We have not been served with a complaint, but are aware of the suit based on media reports. We believe this suit to be without merit and we do not believe there is any confusion in the marketplace with regard to the complainant’s offerings and Microsoft’s Bing. We respect trademarks and other people’s intellectual property, and look forward to the next steps in the judicial process."
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