Google's keyword advertising system is called AdWords.
If a company pays for a keyword it means that its text advert will
be displayed alongside search results when that word is searched
for in Google.
Mordue's decision means that the case will not be heard, but
other courts have allowed similar cases to go further. Insurance
company Geico took a case against Google on similar grounds. That
case was heard in the Eastern District Court of Virginia and was
mostly a victory for Google.
The judge ruled that Google's sale of trade marked words to
third parties was not an infringement but that it would be an
infringement to include that trade mark in the text ad itself,
since that caused a 'likelihood of confusion'.
That case was settled out of court and neither party has ever
revealed the terms of the settlement. Another case, involving
American Blind and Wallpaper Factory, is pending.
Judge Norman Mordue of the northern district court of New York
ruled in the Rescuecom case that Google's "internal use" did not
violate any trade mark rights because it was not claimed that it
put the trade marked terms on "any goods, containers, displays or
advertisements, or that its internal use is visible to the
public".
David Milman, CEO of Rescuecom, called the decision a "dangerous
precedent".
French courts have taken a firmer view and have ordered Google
not to allow a search using one company's trade marks to turn up
information about another company's products or services.
