SOMEBODY'S GOT TO GO; PASADENA-BASED NET COMPANY CLAIMS DISNEY STEALING ITS LOGO.Byline: Ben Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer Leggo my logo. That's what a Pasadena-based Internet search engine firm told Burbank-based Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. in papers filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The company, GoTo.Com, is seeking an injunction against Disney to prevent it from using the current logo for its Go Network site. GoTo.com claims the color scheme and typeface The design of a set of printed characters, such as Courier, Helvetica and Times Roman. The terms "typeface" and "font" are used interchangeably, but the typeface is the primary design, while the font is the particular implementation and variation of the typeface, such as bold or italics are so similar to its own that consumers are bound to be confused. Officials at GoTo.com, whose site was launched in June, said they met with Disney representatives several times to no effect before the Mouse launched its Web site in January. ``We tried to dissuade TO DISSUADE, crim. law. To induce a person not to do an act. 2. To dissuade a witness from giving evidence against a person indicted, is an indictable offence at common law. Hawk. B. 1, c. 2 1, s. 1 5. them from using this practically identical logo, and they refused,'' said John Fisher
Saint John Fisher also John Cardinal Fisher (c. 1469 – 1535), was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal and martyr. , who sits on GoTo.com's board of directors. ``They proved to be completely intractable and intransigent.'' Disney representatives said the GoTo.com lawsuit is baseless. ``Disney has secured the rights to the Go Network logo and we'll defend those rights vigorously,'' said spokeswoman Rebecca Anderson. Asked whether the two designs appear similar, Anderson said, ``People can make their own judgment when they look at them. That's as much as I'm prepared to say.'' Jeffrey Brewer, president and chief executive of GoTo.com, said there is more at stake than two companies with similar images. Brewer said Disney's portal approach - in which it seeks be a gateway to the Internet, directing users to other sites, including several owned by or associated with Disney - is the opposite of what his company hopes to achieve. GoTo.com is a fee-based search engine. Businesses pay GoTo.com for a high ranking See Google bomb. when users type in key search terms. An online bookseller, for example, might pay 3 cents to appear on a results list each time a user searches using the term ``books.'' But that retailer's information would appear lower on the list than that of a company paying 5 cents. Under such a business model, GoTo.com owes allegiance to no single advertiser and has no vested interest Vested Interest A financial or personal stake one entity has in an asset, security, or transaction. Notes: For example, if you have a mortgage, your bank has a vested interest on the sale of your house. See also: Right in which Web sites users choose to visit, Brewer said. ``Everything (Disney and its Go Network) stand for is against what we set out to do,'' he said. By using a logo similar to GoTo.com's, Disney's site could hurt his company, Brewer said. ``I don't think they have a very good product, and I don't want to be tainted taint v. taint·ed, taint·ing, taints v.tr. 1. To affect with or as if with a disease. 2. To affect with decay or putrefaction; spoil. See Synonyms at contaminate. 3. with their product,'' he said. While Brewer portrayed the case as one of David vs. Goliath, his $30 million firm is itself backed by some of the biggest names in Internet financing. Beyond Fisher, whose venture capital firm Draper Fisher & Jurevetson invested in the company, GoTo.Com received much of its early money from idealab! CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) GoTo.com is seeking an injunction to prevent Disney from using its Go Network logo, right. |
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