Los Angeles – Just one day before the reveal of its new Xoom tablet, Motorola was served by Xoom Corporation in a trademark infringement lawsuit.  In addition to the alleged trademark infringement, the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, also accuses Motorola of false designation of origin, unfair competition, false advertising, and unfair business practices.

Xoom Corporation, which sells “remittance software services” has a federally registered and incontestable trademark for “XOOM” for its online services.  The company has been operating xoom.com since 2003 in connection with its payment processing services.  The motive behind the lawsuit seems to be Motorola’s purchase of the “Xoom” keyword  with the search engines.  As a result of the keyword purchase, consumers entering the word “xoom” into search engines have been directed to the official website for Motorola’s Xoom tablet device.  A spokesperson for Xoom Corporation stated, “To confuse and mislead consumers, Motorola without any authorization deliberately and unlawfully appropriated Xoom’s trade name and trademark rights.”

The Motorola Xoom tablet was launched on February 23, 2011 in the U.S. through Verizon Wireless Inc.  It is in direct competition with Apple Inc.’s iPad and other competing devices that, like the Xoom, operate on Google’s Android software.  The tablet sells for approximately $600 with a two-year Verizon contract and about $800 without one.

Xoom Corporation is requesting a preliminary and permanent injunction, damages, profits from the sale of the tablet, and attorneys fees.