1-800 Contacts has filed a lawsuit against Warby Parker for alleged trademark infringement.
The suit claims that Warby Parker purchased search engine keywords for “1-800 Contact,” Reuters reports. It was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
An attorney for 1-800 Contacts told the news agency that Warby Parker sought to “confuse” consumers rather than building its own brand presence for online contact lens sales. The suit also alleges that Warby Parker imitated the 1-800 Contacts website design.
1-800 Contacts stated in its court filing: “Warby Parker’s plan intentionally deceives and confuses consumers, who have a reasonable and legitimate expectation that their searches for the well-known 1 800 CONTACTS marks will lead them to 1-800 Contacts’ website, products, and services, not to a page created by a competitor.”
Retail Dive reports that 1-800 Contacts is looking to block Warby Parker “from using its name ‘in any way’ that could confuse customers, including through search ads.” The company is also asking for damages.
There was no immediate comment on the lawsuit from Warby Parker representatives, Reuters and Retail Dive report.
Read more at Reuters