By George Anderson
L.L. Bean has filed a lawsuit for trademark infringement against Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, Atkins and Gevalia alleging pop-up ads for those companies appeared when consumers visited the retailer's web site.
Mary Lou Kelley, vice president for E-commerce at L.L. Bean, told the Associated Press, "These advertisers are illegally poaching on L.L. Bean's trademark. Using our trademarked name as a trigger to which you want to serve your ads causes customer confusion and crosses the line into trademark infringement."
"This is such a parasitic practice that consumers hate," Ms. Kelley added. "We're trying to get advertisers to stop serving pop-up ads on L.L. Bean's web site which annoy and divert our customers."
Moderator's Comment: What are your thoughts on this case?
Having visited the L.L. Bean a number of times over the past year, we can't ever recall seeing a pop-up ad for Nordstrom, J.C. Penney or any other company other than the retailer. Having said that, we may not have noticed if they were there since we immediately delete any pop-ups out of habit. - George Anderson - Moderator