Google and other search engines have been sued by Robert Novak,
owner of PetsWarehouse.com, alleging that they are selling his
trade marks as keywords to his on-line rivals, DoctorDog.com and
TheFerretStore.com.
Search engines Google, Overture and Kanoodle are accused of
trade mark infringement and unfair competition. Novak claims that
when “Pets Warehouse” is entered as a search term, competitor sites
are listed in the results. He claims that the search engines are
selling his trade marks to his rivals as advertising keywords.
Google is additionally accused of breach of contract, because,
according to Novak, it failed to respond to notices regarding the
alleged infringing acts. He is claiming damages of $6 million.
Novak is known for another lawsuit: he sued a group of aquarium
hobbyists after they made negative comments on-line about his
customer service. He sought $15 million damages, alleging that they
also hacked his computers and threatened his life.
Novak, representing himself, then sued the owners of mailing
lists and web sites where the case was discussed, the defence
lawyer and also web sites that ran ads promoting a defence fund set
up for the lawsuit.
