Legal Win for Google AdWords

A California federal court has handed Google a legal victory in a battle over its successful AdWords platform. 

The plaintiff in Jurin v. Google Inc. sells building materials to contractors and homeowners. Plaintiff sells the materials under its ”StyroTrim” trademark. The plaintiff was upset to learn that Google’s AdWords program had “suggested” StyroTrim as a keyword. Competitors allegedly bid on the term and then appeared in the “sponsored links” accompanying searches for StyroTrim — sometimes in a higher “position” than Jurin’s company. Plaintiff alleged Google’s AdWords infringed the StyroTrim trademark and constituted false advertising under the Lanham Act. Plaintiff also alleged the AdWords “sponsored links” constituted a “false designation of [the] origin [of Styrotrim materials]” under that act. Finally, plaintiff claimed Google had negligently and intentionally interfered with plaintiff’s contractual relations with its customers. Google moved to dismiss these claims. Read more »

$32.4 Million Verdict for Louis Vuitton in Suit Against ISPs

A California jury has awarded Louis Vuitton damages in the amount of $32.4 million against two internet service providers (ISPs) and their operator for contributory trademark infringement based on their hosting of websites that sold knock-off Louis Vuitton products.  For the full story, see this article in ars technica.  This decision may lead ISPs to respond more proactively when they receive notice of infringement.  It also serves as a helpful reminder that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) safe harbor for ISPs does not extend to activity the ISP knows is taking place.