Playboy Enterprises filed suit in federal court against Excite and Netscape Communications for selling control of its trademark to online porn advertisers.
According to Playboy, when Excite and Netscape visitors search for the words playboy or playmate, advertising from other other pornography sites pop up. Playboy alleges that its trademark is being unfairly hijacked and its good name degraded.
"Excite has hijacked and usurped Playboy Enterprises' good will and reputation," the suit claims.
Cosmetics firm Estée Lauder slapped Excite with a similar suit in late January.
The outcome of the suits could have broad impact on search firms, which make a good chunk of their money selling ad banners pegged to keyword searches.
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Telephony gets louder voice: Two lobbying groups that promote Internet telephony said on Thursday they agreed to merge to create a more powerful voice in defending the interests of Net-based telecommunications companies.
The Spread the Net Coalition and the Voice on the Net Coalition said the combined organization, to be called the VON Coalition, will be able to send a more unified message to policy makers, in particular the Federal Communications Commission.
The mission, in the coalition's own words, will be "to actively advocate the viewpoint that the IP telephony industry should remain as free of governmental regulations as possible."
The coalition represents companies that send voice conversations over the Internet at cheap rates. The traditional phone companies are applying intense pressure on Congress and the FCC to curtail Net-telephony companies. The VON Coalition was formed in 1996 in response to the threat of the FCC regulations and tariffs.
Founding members in the VON Coalition include 3COM, Brooktrout Technology, Cisco Systems, Deltathree, Dialogic Corporation, and Intel, among others.
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CMP for sale: CMP Media, a technology magazine publisher that's been facing falling advertising for the past few months, said Thursday it hired investment bank Lazard Freres & Co. to find a potential buyer.
Michael Leeds, CMP's chief executive, said the New York company, the third-largest technology publishing firm in the United States, wants Lazard Freres to "explore strategic alternatives," but cautioned that didn't necessarily mean a deal was in the works.
"The goal of this process is to enable us to maximize stockholder value, expand our ability to provide new products and services to our customers, and enhance career opportunities for our employees," Leeds said.
It has been a turbulent year for CMP, which publishes a half dozen computer titles, including InternetWeek, Information Week, and Computer Reseller News. Disappointing earnings caused in part by the company's acquisition of Byte, sent CMP's stock into a tailspin last fall. A downturn in technology advertising forced CMP to fold LAN Times, a computer-networking publication, in October.
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MarketWatch on CompuServe: The CompuServe unit of America Online said on Thursday it agreed to build a financial news center with MarketWatch.com.
MarketWatch will serve as a key content provider on CompuServe's main menu and in its new Personal Finance Channel. In addition, CompuServe signed agreements with BigCharts and Thomson Investor's Network to contribute to the financial information site.
CompuServe's Personal Finance Channel offers online trading, stock lists, and portfolios.
