Disney to Pay GoTo.com $21.5 Million in Settlement
While not a substantial amount for Disney, which brought in $13.24 billion in revenues in the past six months, the dough could be a lifesaver for GoTo.com. The smaller company lost $30.5 million in its most recent fiscal quarter, and its stock price hit a 52-week low on May 24.
GoTo.com sued Disney in February 1999 in the United States District Court in Los Angeles, saying the green-light-shaped logo the company's Go.com network adopted in December was too close to the circular green logo the pay-for-placement search engine firm has used since 1997.
On November 15, 1999, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Terry Hatter, Jr. granted GoTo.com a preliminary injunction, which meant Disney, Infoseek and related companies had to drop the Go.com logo.
At the time, Disney vowed to appeal the decision, but the companies apparently reached a negotiated settlement before the actual trial date was set. A pre-trial conference was originally scheduled for March.
The decision by Go.com to concede defeat in the battle over the green-light logo, and adopt green lettering with a yellow arrow, marks another twist in the story of a company that's been rocked by turmoil and indecision. The Go Network, a joint venture between Disney and Infoseek, has been marked by high executive turnover, including the conviction of one of its execs -- Patrick Naughton -- for crossing state lines to solicit sex with a minor.
Strategy has shifted at Go.com, too. The company recently abandoned
ambitions of being a wide-reaching portal, and instead decided to focus on
being an entertainment destination.
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