PITTSBURGH — Metal Exchange Corp. is suing Scrap Metal Exchange LLC for alleged trademark and service mark infringements, claiming that the company has lured customers by using a "confusingly similar" trade name.

Metal Exchange, which has been brokering scrap, metals and alloys since 1974, says that it owns the trade names Metal Exchange, The Metal Exchange, and Metal Exchange Corp., as well as two associated logos.

The St. Louis-based company alleges that Scrap Metal Exchange has "caused actual confusion in the marketplace and among the relevant purchasing public and consumers," particularly in the St. Louis market, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Missouri. It is asking the court to award it three times the damages it incurred, although it didn’t specify an amount.

Chicago-based Scrap Metal Exchange could not be reached for comment.

Metal Exchange filed a similar lawsuit last fall against Houston-based Metal Networks LLC (amm.com, Oct. 8). That case is still working its way through federal District Court in Missouri.