GoTo.com Sues Disney, Infoseek Over Web Logo

GoTo.com Inc., a Pasadena-based Internet search engine company, said it is suing Walt Disney Co. and Infoseek Corp. to bar them from using a logo for their new Go Network of Web sites because it resembles GoTo’s logo.

In the suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, GoTo.com alleges that Disney’s logo confuses consumers because it is so similar to the white lettering on a green traffic light that GoTo.com has been using since December 1997.

“When we first saw their logo, just prior to the launch of their network, we couldn’t believe it,” said Jeffrey Brewer, chief executive of GoTo.com.

Brewer said his company discussed the issue during several meetings with Disney and Infoseek, the No. 4 Internet directory, but failed to reach an agreement.

If GoTo.com were to prevail in its claim, it would represent a serious setback for Disney, which has spent millions of dollars marketing Go Network as the centerpiece of its Internet strategy.

But Disney officials said GoTo.com’s claims are baseless. “Disney has secured the rights to the Go Network logo and we will defend our rights vigorously,” said Rebecca Anderson, a Disney spokeswoman.

Last month, Burbank-based Disney and Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Infoseek unveiled Go Network, combining Disney’s news and entertainment sites with Infoseek’s directory and free online services such as e-mail. Disney bought 43% of Infoseek in 1998.