Google sues copycat porn search engine

Google may not be worried by Microsoft's threatened foray into the search arena but it seems the frat-boys-made-good might just be losing sleep over another entrant into the market - adult search engine Booble.com.

Adult-centric Booble.com's site is a parody of the Google homepage but the search giant doesn't appear to set much store by the adage that imitation is the sincerest form of the flattery. Google has slapped the site with a writ claiming trademark infringement and demands that it be shut down.

Booble's site mimics the search engine's colour scheme and logo, replacing the double 'o's with a pair of breasts - hence the name - and imitating Google's 'I'm feeling lucky' button with a variety of options for the porn-hungry consumer, including 'I'm feeling cheap' and 'I'm feeling playful'.

While Booble claims its site is merely a parody of Google's - rather than an illegal breach of its intellectual property - such semantics don't wash at the Googleplex. According to its attorney's letter, which is posted on the Booble.com site: "We dispute your assertion that your website is a parody. For a work to constitute a parody, it must use some elements of a prior author's composition to create a new one that, at least in part, comments on the original author's works."

One of the founders of Booble, a mysterious 'Bob' who claims to be a former exec at a leading US online company, apparently disputes the letter's argument and pledges to continue fighting. "We responded with our own letter, asserting our right to parody under the first amendment... We have just begun to fight for our right to parody," said the pseudonym-preferring boss on the site.

The site hasn't missed a chance to deliver a swift glory kick. A disclaimer on Booble.com states: "Booble.com is not affiliated with any other search engines (for starters, we have a sense of humor). Clicking on a link in the disclaimer takes users to a mock Google search page that says "Your search - sense of humor - did not match any Google documents".

The funny bones at chez Google weren't much tickled, it seems. Among the requests laid down by the search behemoth was a transfer of the domain name and an end to the site's existence, as well as a ban on any Googlelike look-and-feel on any of the Booble.com's sites in the future.