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Date Posted: 22:16:12 12/15/04 Wed
Google wins advertising case
By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: December 16 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 16 2004 02:00
Google won an important test case in the US yesterday when a federal court judge cleared its practice of selling ads around internet searches conducted for trademarked terms.
The case had been brought by Geico, the US auto insurance arm of Berkshire Hathaway, which claimed that the search engine company's policy confused consumers and diluted its trademark.
Using Google's AdWords system - the company's main money-earner - rival insurers are able to bid for the right to have their own ads displayed when a user types the Geico name into the search box.
During the case, which began on Monday in a court in Virginia, Google had argued that its practice was consistent with other well-established forms of comparative advertising.
After hearing evidence presented by Geico, Judge Leonie Brinkema yesterday granted Google's request for a summary dismissal of the main part of the insurer's case.
However, she allowed Geico to proceed with a second part of its case, which would prevent other advertisers from using the Geico name in the text of their ads. Google said it already responded to requests from trademark owners to block messages such as these.
Google has been forced to take a different approach outside the US, where legal rules on comparative advertising are often stricter. Louis Vuitton successfully brought a case against it in France last year, while the sale of trademarked terms has also been ruled against in Germany.
As aresult, Google said that outside the US and Canada it responded to requests from trademark holders to block ads that are triggered by asearch using their names, though it does not do this automatically. The company still faces a number of lawsuits over the practice, including one brought in the US by American Blind and Wallpaper Factory.
Google's policy in the US has set it apart from Yahoo, whose Overture subsidiary provides the main alternative to Google's AdWords system. Yahoo was also sued by Geico but reached an out-of-court settlement at the start of this month. It now responds to requests to block competitors' ads.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/5db3e2a0-4f0a-11d9-9488-00000e2511c8.html
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Google wins advertising case