Mark Nutritionals Inc. has sued AltaVista, Kanoodle, FindWhat
and Overture. It is demanding $10 million in actual damages and
$100 million in punitive damages from each company, according to a
report by The Recorder.
The company describes the practice of “pay for placement” as
tantamount to extortion and internet piracy where trade marks are
involved. It is claiming trade mark infringement and dilution,
unfair competition and violations of a Texas code of commerce.
A key factor in the case is likely to be whether consumers are
confused by the results. As an example, the following is the first
result of a search on “Body Solutions” in Overture.com today:
Thermo-Lift Night vs Body Solutions
Compare with Thermo-lift Night Solutions and save over 30%!
Side-by-side comparison! Come see the difference and save! Buy two,
get one free special! Free shipping.
www.twinlabproducts.com (Cost to advertiser: $0.10)
The official site of Body Solutions appears in position number
seven. The top five sites state the “Cost to advertiser”. The only
other site above the official site appears to be a non-paying
competitor.
