Lose a Turn : Hasbro Sends Internet Purveyor of Sexual Material to the Land of Lawsuits

Lord Licorice would not be amused.

A Seattle company is using the name Candyland for an Internet site containing sexually explicit text and photographs.

Toy maker Hasbro Inc. is suing the company, Internet Entertainment Group, in federal court, claiming that Hasbro has exclusive rights to use the trademark Candy Land name of its board game for children.

Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro argues in its suit that Internet Entertainment is sullying the name of a wholesome children’s game. The game was invented in the 1940s to amuse children recuperating from polio.

The Internet site called Candyland features strip shows and so-called “private fantasy booths.” Its creators bill it as “the purest form of safe sex.”

Internet Entertainment said there’s little chance anyone would confuse the Internet site and the board game.

“Over 10 million adults have visited our site to date, and not one single person has expressed confusion,” said Scott Shalin, Internet Entertainment’s directing editor and a former staff editor at Hustler magazine.

Shalin said Internet users must disclose their ages and birth dates and provide a credit card number before they can gain access to the site.

A hearing is scheduled Monday in U.S. District Court. Hasbro is expected to seek a temporary restraining order seeking to bar the use of the Candyland name.