Las Vegas Sands Corp. sues Expedia over ad

Las Vegas Sands Corp., the world's biggest casino operator, sued Expedia Inc., accusing the online travel site of advertising hotel reservations for the Venetian resort without permission.

Expedia, the world's biggest travel agency, infringed and diluted the Venetian's trademark when it continued to advertise hotel reservations after an agreement between the two companies expired, Las Vegas Sands said in an Aug. 23 complaint in federal court in Boston.

A search of the term "Venetian Hotel" on Yahoo.com yields a sponsored advertisement for Expedia.com with the tag "Book with Expedia and save," according to the complaint. Consumers who then attempt to book reservations via Expedia are told the Venetian isn't available for the dates they selected and are re- routed to links for rival Las Vegas resorts.