Google Sued for Trademark Infringment

American Blind and Wallpaper Factory, Inc. (ABWF) recently brought suit against Google for trademark infringement, alleging that Google violates trademark law by allowing ABWF's competitors to purchase search terms covering ABWF's trademarks to display their own advertisements. In April, a judge denied Google's motion to dismiss the case, stating that ABWF produced sufficient evidence of likelihood of confusion, the main element of trademark infringement.

Google's "Adwords" proprietary advertising program currently accounts for 98% of the company’s revenue. The program works by displaying paying customers' advertisements after a user searches ("googles") a keyword. The program also allows costumers to purchase search words based on their competitor's trademarks to trigger advertisements for their own products. This act, as ABWF alleges, leads to trademark infringement.

Courts have held that trademark infringement may be based upon confusion that creates initial customer interest, even though no actual sale is finally completed as a result of the confusion. Applied to the facts here, trademark infringement may result if a consumer googles one of ABWF's trademarks and the result displays an ABWF competitor's advertisement.

This case has the potential to severely hinder Google's business plan and alter Google's user experience. The trial is set for jury selection on November 9, 2007.