Freeport, ME-based cataloger L.L. Bean, which sued four companies on May 17 for using spyware-enabled pop-up ads on its Website, said on June 22 that it had settled with two of the companies—Gevalia Kaffe and Atkins Nutritionals. Bean says that the other two companies it sued—cataloger/retailers Nordstrom and J.C. Penney—have chosen to litigate the case.
As part of its settlement with Gevalia and Atkins, Bean is to receive an undisclosed payment of damages. In addition, Gevalia and Atkins agree to stop authorizing ads for their products on Bean’s site.
This is the third chapter in an online battle between catalogers, retailers, and suppliers. On June 3, Claria Corp., a Redwood City, CA-based provider of spyware software, sued Bean for having filed “sham litigation” — even though Claria wasn’t named in Bean’s May 17 litigation.