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May 03, 2005

New Search Engine Keyword Lawsuit--Panicware v. Stopzilla

Panicware v. International Software Systems Solutions (SDNY complaint filed April 27, 2005). Panicware is suing a competitor Stopzilla for purchasing ads triggered by the keyword “POP-UP STOPPER,” which purportedly diverts Panicware’s customers. As the press release says, “There is no good faith explanation for why Stopzilla could not use the generic term 'Pop-up ad blocker' instead of our registered trademark.” In fact, there are a number of good reasons why consumers may benefit from advertising delivered in response to “POP-UP STOPPER” instead of “Pop-up ad blocker,” a point I make in some detail in my Deregulating Relevancy paper.

(Thanks to Trademark Blog for the reference.)

Posted by Eric at May 3, 2005 07:25 PM | Search Engines , Trademark