Yahoo's Request to Move American Airlines Lawsuit DeniedOne More in a Long Line of Pay Per Click Trademark Infringement Lawsuits
A federal appeals court has rejected Yahoo's bid to move a trademark lawsuit filed by American Airlines from Texas to Northern California.
Sunnyvale-based Yahoo wanted the case transferred because its sponsored search agreement says any disputes must be settled by courts in Northern California or another site picked by the company.
But a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Wednesday that the contract clause didn't apply to the trademark claim made by American.
American sued Yahoo last year in federal district court in Fort Worth — American's hometown — charging that Yahoo's search policies infringed on the airline's trademarks.
American complained that when visitors to Yahoo's Web site typed in trademark terms such as AAdvantage, the name of American's frequent-flier program, the search engine directed them to competitors who pay Yahoo for the traffic.
American settled a similar lawsuit against Google last year.
