As best we can tell, Hulu.com is some kind of entertainment-based social networking platform. Lulu.com enables anyone to get an ISBN and have a “book” printed. So what’s the problem? According to Lulu, a lot: trademark infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices and for federal cyberpiracy, as per a lawsuit the company has just filed. In the complaint, filed in US District Court in Raleigh, NC, Lulu alleges that “Hulu, as a result of their recent name and Internet domain announcements, have intentionally attempted to create confusion in the marketplace. Hulu, in name, as a mark and in their business as a digital content distribution platform, represents a definitive encroachment.”
Which, frankly, seems like a bit of a stretch. If it was, say, Looloo or Lula or Lu-lu, maybe I could buy the argument. But that the name rhymes? Nope.