Name game ends up in court as two Foley law firms do battle

Call it Foley vs. Foley.

Actually, it is called Foley v. Foley.

Foley Hoag, the prestigious law firm whose Boston roots date to 1943, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court yesterday against Foley & Lardner, a Milwaukee firm that opened a Boston office in January. The suit contends that Foley & Lardner's rebranding of itself as, simply, ''Foley" (branding and rebranding being trendy things for law firms to do these days) has caused confusion in the marketplace.

The trouble began in 2003, when Foley & Lardner tried to trademark Foley as its shorthand market name. But Foley Hoag had already trademarked the name Foley Hoag. So the request was rejected by the US Patent and Trademark Office on grounds that the public wouldn't know who's who.

Undeterred, Foley & Lardner proceeded to use Foley on its website, stationery, business cards, and advertising materials, according to the lawsuit. And that, Foley Hoag alleges, has led to all sorts of mix-ups, including misdirected phone calls and even misdirected payments.

Miffed, Foley Hoag asked Foley & Lardner to cease or modify its use of the Foley nickname. Foley & Lardner chose not to, so lawyers at Foley Hoag did what lawyers do: They sued.

The Foley with Lardner in its name didn't return calls from the Globe seeking comment.

Sacha Pfeiffer can be reached at pfeiffer@globe.com.