Google Inc., the No. 1 Web search provider, has accused an "adult search engine" named Booble of infringing on its trademarks and wants it shut down, according to the upstart porn-search site launched this month.
Booble.com, a Web site that searches the Internet for pornographic content, said it was "intended to be a funny parody of the world's largest and best known search engine."
The Web site carries a disclaimer on its main page that says booble.com is not affiliated with any other search engines. The page also has a link for people looking for google.com.
In an e-mail posted on the Booble site, Google attorneys argue that Booble's "domain name is confusingly similar to the famous Google trademark" and that it "improperly duplicates the distinctive and proprietary overall look and feel of Google's" Web site.
Google asked Booble to disable its Web site, stop using its domain name and transfer it to Google, among other things, according to the e-mail.
"In trademark law, parody is a defense to trademark infringement ... Our client's Web site is in fact a successful parody, which simultaneously brings to mind the original, while also conveying that it is not the original," attorneys for the operators, wrote in a Jan. 28 response also posted on Booble.com.
"We ask that Google reconsider its objections and accept the Booble Web site in the spirit that it was intended -- as a parody," the attorneys wrote.
Representatives for both Booble and Google could not be immediately reached for comment.