DISNEY TO PAY $21.5 MILLION TO GOTO.COM
Disney has also agreed to stop using the disputed logo for its Go Network—a green circle inside a yellow square resembling a traffic light—as well as a replacement logo the company devised after a court issued an injunction against the company last November. The Go Network includes Disney.com, ESPN.com and ABCnews.com.
The settlement came as a result of court-supervised discussions. Disney has also agreed to drop a counterclaim it filed against Pasadena, CA-based GoTo.com.
"I couldn't be more happy," said Jeffrey Brewer, chairman of GoTo.com. "It is going to reduce confusion in the marketplace and allow us to control our corporate identity. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to rolling around on that huge pile of cash and giggling like a giddy schoolgirl."
For Disney, the settlement comes as the company redesigns its Internet strategy and its Go.com site. The company decided in January to abandon its attempt to position Go.com as an Internet portal, similar to Yahoo! or AOL. Instead, Disney said it would focus the site—which was formed after Disney bought Infoseek, a search engine company—on recreation, entertainment and leisure.
"Despite this minor setback," a Disney official said, "our plan for world domination continues unabated. Now, hurry out and buy a copy of ‘Tarzan' before I pull it from the shelves."
