Court Okays Use of Trademarks in Google Searches
E-Commerce News: Legal : Court Okays Use of Trademarks in Google Searches: "Court Okays Use of Trademarks in Google SearchesIn a recent decision that might have long-term implications on how Internet search engines run their advertising programs, the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia released its written opinion on Government Insurance Company v. Google, Inc., et al., a case decided a while back.
The Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to bar the defendant, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) , from displaying the banner ads of competitive insurers when Internet users conduct a search using the trademarked terms of the plaintiff, Government Employees Insurance Company ("GEICO"), such as the trademark "GEICO Direct."
Despite the many flaws noted by the Court of the expert survey, the Court did find GEICO's survey results to be sufficient to establish a likelihood of confusion regarding advertisements displayed in Google's ad program that included GEICO's trademarked terms in the actual advertisements next to the organic listings.
Because of this remaining potential liability of trademark infringement, the Court left several legal questions unanswered, including whether Google itself is liable for any Lanham Act violations (the question of whether the advertisers themselves were in violation was not before the Court since they were not a party in the case), the time frame during which the violations occurred and the measure of damages or other relief that GEICO may be entitled to if Google is found liable.
With regards to these last remaining issues, the Court decided to temporarily stay the proceedings to give GEICO and Google time to consider the Court's written opinion and to determine whether the parties themselves can resolve the remaining issues of liability and damages."
posted by Jen @ 12:00 PM
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