The suit, filed by French company Transasia Corporation, demands that Association Leonardo halt the use of the word "Leonardo" in its Web sites, projects, or services, according to Leonardo editor Roger Malina.

"I feel outraged," said Malina. "I think its obviously part of this Internet fever right now.

"Cultural organizations were some of the first people on the Net, and certain names are very valuable," he added. "And now there are people who are trying to cash in."

According to a statement released by Malina, Transasia is suing Association Leonardo for more than US$1 million in damages because "a search engine request using the word 'Leonardo' brings up not only their Web sites but also those of the Leonardo arts organization."

Among the names Transasia lays claim to are: "Leonardo," Leonardo Finance, Leonardo Partners, Leonardo Invest, and Leonardo Experts.

A year ago Malina received a letter from Transasia, claiming rights to the name Leonardo, Malina said.

"We wrote back documenting our use of the name for over 30 years with the journals. We never trademarked the word Leonardo. There are so many uses of the word Leonardo across the planet that it would be impossible to get worldwide rights to that name."

Malina, the son of association founder Frank Malina, said a squad of eight policeman recently served a search warrant at his father's home in France -- the legal address of the organization.

Andrew Good, a lawyer with the law firm of Silverglate and Good, said he thinks Transasia has little chance of winning the suit.

"The bottom line here is the name 'Leonardo' would be extremely difficult to get intellectual property protection for," he said. "How the hell do you claim copyright protection on a name like 'Leonardo'? That's like copyrighting the name Roberta. It's off the wall."