FREEPORT (AP) – A California company at the center of a lawsuit over spyware that allowed competing companies’ ads to appear when consumers visited L.L. Bean’s Web site has responded with a counter suit.

The Claria Corp. announced Wednesday that it has filed its own lawsuit targeting L.L. Bean in federal court in Texas.

Bean sued last month for trademark infringement because four companies – Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, Atkins and Gevalia – allegedly used pop-up ads targeting people who visit the Bean Web site.

Bean, which claimed the ads cause customer confusion and crossed into trademark infringement, said the retailers contracted with software company Claria Corp., which creates programs to track online habits.

On Wednesday, the California-based company responded with a statement describing L.L. Bean’s lawsuit as “sham litigation, all part of its unsuccessful litigation strategy against Claria.”

Claria said two of the companies L.L. Bean sued – Nordstrom and J.C. Penney – have not utilized Claria’s services for 1 to 3 years.

As for the other two, Atkins Nutritionals and Gevalia Kaffee, one has never been a Claria customer and the other has never purchased ads shown to be directly linked to L.L. Bean consumers, Claria said.

Jeff McFadden, Claria’s chief executive officer, accused L.L. Bean of waging a public relations war with a frivolous lawsuit.

He said the company was seeking damages for “reckless actions and anti-competitive and anti-consumer behavior.”

L.L. Bean “plans to vigorously press its trademark infringement complaints, and we will be equally as vigorous in defending against this latest maneuver by Claria,” said Mary Lou Kelley, Bean’s vice president of online commerce.

“We are not at all surprised that Claria would sue us in response to our efforts to protect our trademark. Given the form of their business, Claria is naturally a very litigious operation,” Kelley said.

To support its position, L.L.Bean has cited survey data that demonstrates consumer confusion over the nature and source of pop-up ads.

Atkins Nutritionals already agreed to a court order not to put ads on L.L. Bean’s Web site and to pay a confidential settlement, she said.

“We have every right to protect the L.L. Bean trademark against those companies that use pop-up ads on our Web site,” she said.

AP-ES-06-09-04 1816EDT