SAN FRANCISCO — The battle for "Manplay" has ended up in federal court.
Titan Media on Monday filed suit against the operators of SexSearch.com, which runs dating site Manplay.com, claiming they are trying to profit from one of its brands.
Titan Media, whose parent company is Io Group, also goes on to say that SexSearch's Manplay logo appears too similar to its own corporate identity.
"Defendants use of the Manplay mark is even more consistent with Io Group Inc.'s overall corporate look than Io Group's own Manplay logo."
Titan Media claims in the suit that it developed the Manplay product line in 2001, later obtaining in 2006 a trademark for the name from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
But in March, SexSearch registered the domain name Manplay.com.
Titan Media, which filed the case at U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeks damages for trademark infringement, cyberpiracy and loss of business reputation, among other allegations.
Officials at SexSearch and its related companies — Fiesta Catering, Experienced Internet and Cytek Ltd. — did not immediately return email messages for comment to XBIZ.