21 December 2009 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

Microsoft sued over Bing name

Microsoft has been issued with a lawsuit over use of 'Bing' as the name for its re-branded search engine.

The Guardian reports that the lawsuit was filed by Missouri-based design company Bing! Information Design, which is claiming that Microsoft "intentionally interfered" when adopting their trademarked name for their re-branded search engine earlier this year. The design company claims that the software giant "had knowledge of the mark," and their lawyers are asserting that Microsoft's use of the Bing name has damaged the smaller company's business.

The company's lawyer Anthony Simon issued a statement explaining: "For nearly 10 years my client has been using the Bing! mark.

"My client selected this unique mark to distinguish itself in the marketplace and invested substantial time and effort promoting its business using Bing!

"Microsoft's use of the identical mark and its aggressive advertising have gutted all of my client's efforts to distinguish its business and created confusion that must be remedied."

However, despite the company's claim that it has long held the trademark over the Bing name for use in advertising and services, it has been revealed that Bing! Information Design did not apply for their trademark until May this year - when news of Microsoft's search engine was already widespread. Furthermore, Microsoft filed its own trademark application for the name two months earlier in March, covering the Bing name for use in search engine and insurance software, advertising, telecoms and other web services.

Microsoft's lawyers are unfazed over the allegation. Kevin Kutz is confident that the case will be dismissed due to both companies being substantially different, leading to little confusion among users. The lawyer explained: "We believe this suit to be without merit and we do not believe there is any confusion in the marketplace with regard to the complainants 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."

The allegation came at an unfortunate time for Microsoft, in the same week the Silicon Valley giant was accused of stealing code from Canadian company Plunk. Bing has faced its own share of problems in recent months, such as going offline for 30 minutes and falling prey to scammers.