DENVER -- Re/Max is suing online auction house eBay for a television commercial that uses "for sale" signs the real estate giant says look similar to its own.

The commercial depicts a happy couple removing a real estate sign from the lawn of their new home before the house starts to fall apart. The commercial ends with the couple hammering the real estate sign back into the lawn.

"The use of the sign in eBay's real estate commercial leaves the viewer with the impression that the sign is a Re/Max sign," according the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order forcing eBay to stop airing the commercial.

"We will be contacting Re/Max to tell them this ad was a spoof and meant to be somewhat entertaining," said Kevin Pursglove, a spokesman for eBay, which is based in San Jose, Calif. "A couple buys a house and portions of the house start falling apart, and we suggest that a good way to find value for replacements is on eBay."

Re/Max asserts the real estate sign in the commercial is similar to its own trademarked red, white and blue sign with horizontal bars.

That "constitutes misappropriation of valuable property rights of Re/Max and trading on the goodwill symbolized by the distinctive and famous Re/Max horizontal bar marks and is thereby likely to confuse and deceive members of the purchasing public," according to the lawsuit, which represents one side of a legal argument.

Re/Max has used the sign to sell more than 9 million homes worth more than $1 trillion, the lawsuit said.

EBay has nearly 19 million registered users and lists more than 4 million items for sale.