Update: Google, Trademark and Keyword Ads
American Blind and Wallpaper Factory filed suit against Google in New York federal court claiming that Google's practice of selling text ads related to keyword search terms takes advantage of American Blind's trademarks, given that competitors' ads can appear on results pages turned up by searches for "American wallpaper" and "American blind."*
This lawsuit comes almost two months after Google filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., asking the court to rule on whether its keyword-advertising policy is legal.*. Google indicated that it would block advertisers from buying keywords which directly infringe American Blind's trademarks, but not descriptive or generic phrases such as american blind.
This most recent lawsuit comes on the heels of the settlement between Playboy and Netscape that failed to resolve such issues.
See also: Trademark Blog has Google's complaint and link to an earlier story in which he's heavily quoted: Google Asks Judge to Lay Down Trademark Law.
This lawsuit comes almost two months after Google filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., asking the court to rule on whether its keyword-advertising policy is legal.*. Google indicated that it would block advertisers from buying keywords which directly infringe American Blind's trademarks, but not descriptive or generic phrases such as american blind.
This most recent lawsuit comes on the heels of the settlement between Playboy and Netscape that failed to resolve such issues.
See also: Trademark Blog has Google's complaint and link to an earlier story in which he's heavily quoted: Google Asks Judge to Lay Down Trademark Law.
