Rescuecom v. Google: Trademark Infringement
In a recent post on Google’s use of trademark words as advertising search terms, one of the questions I raised was whether Google was really any different than a newspaper that might run an ad that was infringing on a third party’s trademark. Rescuecom, Corp. v. Google, Inc. may help to provide some insight into [...]
Google AdWords and Trademarks as Search Terms
Google has been sued by a number of trademark holders on the grounds that competitors can establish an adwords account with Google and bid on trademarks as search terms that users of the search engine may use to search. The consequence is that a high bidder on a trademark search term may see ads from [...]
Trademark Infringement & Starbucks
Starbucks is a well known, international purveyor of coffee products, with thousands of stores throughout the world. Starbucks v. Wolfe’s Borough Coffee, Inc., No. 01 Civ. 5981 (LTS)(THK), 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35578 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2005) (Starbucks I). Starbucks Corporation was formed in 1985 in Washington State, after the original founders had been in [...]
Second Life Avatars and First Life Trademarks
More and more, the body of laws that govern our “first lives” are traveling into the world of Second Life, an online virtual world that allows people to own land, buy and sell products for Linden Dollars, and now, register trademarks based on graphics created by a user in Second Life. Click here to read [...]