Santa Monica, California, Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- EToys Inc.
may drop its trademark-infringement lawsuit against a European
conceptual artists' group called etoy after the group's
supporters alleged the company was trying to silence artistic
expression, the Wall Street Journal reported. The No. 1 Internet
toy retailer, which has already won a court order to shut the
group's online site, www.etoy.com, offered to let the artists
resume using the Web address. The artists had occupied the Web
site since 1995 and eToys, which wasn't founded until the
following year, started its own site -- www.etoys.com -- in 1997,
the paper said.

Earlier this month, Santa Monica, California-based eToys
agreed to sell its consumer-health interactive unit for $20
million in cash and stock to an investment group led by private
equity firm J.H. Whitney & Co.

(WSJ, 12/30 C3)