Victoria’s Secret Sues Over Web Site

Victoria’s Secret Stores Inc. sued GeoCities Inc., now owned by Yahoo Inc., contending the top provider of personal Web pages allowed a client to post a site fraudulently linking the lingerie store chain with an online model search. The user’s Internet site invites young girls between the ages of 10 and 20 to provide “very personal information” and send revealing photographs by e-mail as part of a model search, Victoria’s Secret said. Victoria’s Secret, a unit of Intimate Brands Inc., said it isn’t affiliated with the site. “Yahoo has been responsive and removed the offensive site,” said Debbie Mitchell, an Intimate Brands spokeswoman. Victoria’s Secret plans to drop the lawsuit once Yahoo releases information about the site and its unauthorized use of the Victoria’s Secret name and trademark, she said. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeks a court order that would prohibit GeoCities from continuing to use the Victoria’s Secret trademark.