Keyword Metatags and Keyword-Triggered Ads Don’t Create Initial Interest Confusion–Designer Skin v. S&L Vitamins
By Eric Goldman Designer Skin, LLC v. S & L Vitamins, Inc., 2008 WL 2116646 (D. Ariz. May 20, 2008) An Arizona district court has ruled that the surreptitious use of trademarks doesn’t create a likelihood of initial interest confusion,…
Google Sued for Running Ads for “Fraudulent Mobile Subscription Services”–Goddard v. Google
By Eric Goldman Goddard v. Google, Inc., Case No. 108CV111658 (Cal. Super. Ct. complaint dated April 30, 2008). Google’s notice of removal to federal court C08 02738 (N.D. Cal. removal notice dated May 30, 2008). [warning: 1.5MB file. Google’s notice…
May 2008 Quick Links, Part 1 (Trademarks/Domain Names Edition)
By Eric Goldman * Syncsort Inc. v. Innovative Routines Intern., Inc., 2008 WL 1925304 (D.N.J. April 30, 2008). Including a third party trademark in a keyword metatag qualified as nominative use. (Along the same lines, see the Designer Skin case…
Search Engine Advertiser Litigation Updates
By Eric Goldman Recently, there were intermediate rulings in two long-standing cases by search engine advertisers against search engines. CLRB Hanson Industries, LLC v. Google Inc., 2008 WL 2079200 (N.D. Cal. May 14, 2008) This lawsuit involves the Google AdWords…
April 2008 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Anti-Gaming * Even though Ticketmaster won its lawsuit, Minnesota overreacted to the Hannah Montana ticket crush by banning software to circumvent an online ticket allocation process. See Sec. 609.806. Check out the hyperbole in this press release!…
Injunction Requires Negative Keywords in Future Adwords Campaigns
By Eric Goldman Orion Bancorp Inc. v. Orion Residential Finance LLC, 2008 WL 816794 (M.D. Fla. March 25, 2008). It looks like courts/lawyers are finally getting savvier about broad matching (see my previous blogging on the legal understanding of broad…
Court Says Keyword Metatags Don’t Matter–Standard Process v. Banks
By Eric Goldman Standard Process, Inc. v. Banks, 2008 WL 1805374 (E.D. Wis. April 18, 2008) SEOs and SEMs have known for years that most search engines ignore or give minimal acknowledgement to keyword metatags. Lawyers, on the other hand,…
March 2008 Quick Links, Part I
By Eric Goldman It’s a sign of my busy March/April that I am just now posting these… Reputation/47 USC 230 * I have a lot to say about the JuicyCampus story (AP, MSNBC, Chronicle of Higher Education). Unfortunately, I ran…
11th Circuit Freaks Out About Metatags–North American Medical v. Axiom
By Eric Goldman North American Medical Corp. v. Axiom Worldwide, Inc., 2008 WL 918411 (11th Cir. April 7, 2008) Oh man, what a bizarre and frustrating ruling from the 11th Circuit on metatags. The parties compete in the “spinal decompression”…
Rescuecom v. Google Second Circuit Oral Arguments
By Eric Goldman Yesterday the Second Circuit heard oral arguments in Rescuecom v. Google, and reports from the oral arguments are trickling out. James Grimmelmann provides a comprehensive report. Many thanks to James for taking the time to write this…