Google AdWords and Trade-marks

A US appeals court has permitted an attack against Google’s (in)famous AdWords program by allowing a trade-mark infringement lawsuit to proceed.  The lawsuit was brought against Google by Rescuecom Corp., a computer service and support company.  Rescuecom alleged that Google’s AdWords program (its practice of selling the Rescuecom trade-mark to other advertisers, thereby triggering the appearance of a competitor’s advertisements and links when a Google user launched a search of Rescuecom’s trade-marks) was a violation of trade-mark rights.

On April 3, the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Rescuecom’s lawsuit could proceed.  The outcome of this suit will be closely watched.

Related Reading: Trademark Infringement and Google AdWords  

Calgary – 14:00 MST

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