Google has recently settled a federal lawsuit with American Blind and Wallpaper Factory, as the later agreed to abandon the nearly 4-year-old case without receiving any payment from Google. The suit, originally filed in 2003, has accused Google for trademark infringement, over ads placed through its keyword-based online advertising service. According to the reports, the settlement was reached on August 31.
The agreement also ordered that Google wouldn’t change its long-standing policy that let advertisers place ads tied to a rival’s trademark. Google has reportedly agreed not to change its AdWords trademark policy in a way that would adversely affect the company, whereas American Blinds agreed not to support other parties in suing Google.
In the meanwhile American airlines has filed a similar lawsuit last month over Google’s keyword advertising alleging that it infringes on the airline’s trademark. AP reported, ‘under the practice, a search request for a specific business like American Blind & Wallpaper triggers commercial links from competitors that bid for the right to show ads under specific terms, or “keywords.’
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