Sanofi-Aventis Group has been sued by the Electronic Frontier Foundation over the issue of French pharmaceutical giant threatening a medical news Web site. The row is because the site reported on one of its drugs. Acomplia is used by the Medical Week News Inc., as part of the name of the site, AcompliaReport.com. It was demanded by Sanofi, which is the world's third largest drug company, that Medical Week stop using the name. This, in turn, forced the EFF to intervene on its behalf. Acomplia, which is a drug that is intended to combat obesity, is undergoing final testing in the United States as the company seeks approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The company, namely Medical Week News, which is based in Indian River County, Fla., launched AcompliaReport.com. This is to assist readers track the drug's progress.

The publication, which was founded by a group of medical and information professionals, maintains it has the right to use company names when it independently reports news. According to senior staff attorney at the EFF, a civil-liberties organization said that reporters, critics, and commentators all need to use trademarks in order to discuss and report on trademarked products and services. He further said that the law has always recognized that as a fair use when books and magazines do it and so Publishers should therefore enjoy the same fair  rights on the World Wide Web.