Bing! Microsoft Search Engine Sued by Design Company

Bing! Information Design sued Microsoft over the search engine branding “Bing”. The suit filed in St. Louis City Circuit Court, asserts claims alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, and tortuous interference with business expectancy by the software giant. View the suit here

According to The Wall Street Journal, the computer graphics and multimedia design company founded by John Telford and Brian Williamson says Microsoft’s use of “Bing” confuses the public and incorrectly infers the companies as Bing! Information Design uses the Internet, search engines, and its web page as main sources of advertising and promotion for its services. They also further disclosed that they’ve been using the name since year 2000.

“We have not been served with a complaint, but are aware of the suit based on media reports,” Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz said in a statement. “We believe this suit to be without merit and we do not believe there is any confusion in the marketplace with regard to the complainant’s 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.”

“For nearly 10 years my client has been using the Bing! mark,” said Bing! Information Design Attorney Anthony Simon. “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.”

Though it did not specify a specific dollar amount, the design firm is seeking “actual damages including having Microsoft pay for corrective advertising to remedy the confusion it caused,” the WSJ reported. Legal documents were not yet remotely available on the Missouri court system’s Web site.

Microsoft launched its Bing search engine earlier as a replacement of its Microsoft Live Search.

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