GOOGLE IS SUING A ROBOCALLER THAT TARGETED ADWORDS CUSTOMERS

Original Story: theverge.com

If you answer a phone call and hear a recording claiming to be Google, the odds are good that you're being scammed. That's the message of a new Google Business post and a new lawsuit from the company, targeting a company that used robocalling to target businesses using Google Adwords. A San Diego unfair competition lawyer is following this story closely.

According to the complaint, a company called Local Lighthouse Corp. made telemarketing calls to Adwords customers, using misappropriated logos and other methods to represent themselves as agents of Google. Once they gained a target's trust, they attempted to milk them for $100 fees in exchange for Search benefits like "front page domination." Based on those claims, the lawsuit alleges trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition. A Roseland trademark lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.

Google says such scams are routine, but the company is usually unable to prosecute because scammers are too successful in hiding their tracks. In this case, the accused party is a California search engine optimization company, making it significantly easier for Google to take action. Still, the company reminded users that it rarely contacts Adwords users over the phone, and never does so through pre-recorded calls. Anyone receiving such a call should contact both Google and the Federal Trade Commission to lodge a complaint.

Rosetta Stone Suit vs Google Dismissed

Reuters

 

 

Language software maker Rosetta Stone Inc's trademark infringement lawsuit against Google Inc has been dismissed by a federal judge.

Rosetta has vowed to keep pursuing the case which has broad implications for trademark ownership in the digital age.

In the suit filed in 2009, Rosetta claimed Google profits by allowing rivals that pirate its technology to buy the top "sponsored link" ad on search results pages.

Consumers who search for "Rosetta Stone" on the popular search engine and click on a "sponsored ad" may be visiting the website of a software pirate that purports to be Rosetta, but in reality sells a sub-standard product, the lawsuit claimed.

In a statement released Thursday, Google said the ruling was "consistent with a growing line of decisions" about the Internet.

"Users searching on Google benefit from being able to choose from a variety of competing advertisers, and we've found no evidence that legitimate use of trademarks as keyword triggers or in the text of advertisements confuses consumers," the Mountain View, California-based company said.

"It's not just about Rosetta Stone, frankly," Chief Executive Tom Adams told Reuters. "This is happening for lots and lots of other companies. We're willing to stick our neck out. Google is a very intimidating company."

The company is still awaiting the full ruling from Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Rosetta, based in Arlington, Virginia, said it had hoped for a full jury trial, and may appeal to a higher court.

The company's lawyers claim Google "picks and chooses" to whom it sells sponsored ads.

A Reuters search late on Thursday afternoon showed no sponsored ads for Washington Post Co or American Airlines parent AMR Corp.

However, a sponsored ad for Rosetta Stone links to the website, www.studyingsoftmall.info, which claims to offer discounted Rosetta Stone products, though Rosetta is not affiliated with that website.

"Until you're subjected to this kind of piracy and sale of your trademark to the highest bidder, you don't really understand the case," Adams told Reuters.

Rosetta sells software to help users learn one of 31 languages, including Farsi, French and Irish.

The company is boosting its presence outside the United States, hoping to grow its international business from 11 percent of revenue to as much as 50 percent in the next four years.

Google, the world's most popular Internet search engine, makes most of its revenue from advertising. The company said earlier this month that first-quarter revenue rose 23 percent, largely due to a rebound in Internet advertising.

Shares of Rosetta fell 0.6 percent to close Thursday at $26.33. Google rose 0.5 percent to $532 on Nasdaq.

Yahoo's Request to Move American Airlines Lawsuit Denied
One More in a Long Line of Pay Per Click Trademark Infringement Lawsuits

from Mercury News

Yahoo's request to move suit denied

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.