Plaintiff's firm Kelley Drye & Warren, LLP said the trial in U.S. District Court for the Northern District will focus on ABWF's contention that Mountain View-based Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) "violates trademark laws by allowing competitors of ABWF to buy advertisements, tied to keyword Web searches using ABWF's trademarks."
In an April 18 decision denying Google's motion to dismiss the case, the court wrote that "the evidence suggests that Google used (ABWF's) mark with the intent to maximize its own profit ... (and) ABWF has produced sufficient evidence of likelihood of (consumer) confusion (to allow the case to be decided by a jury)."
The closely watched case could have a significant impact on Google. According to Google's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the "Adwords" advertising program accounts for more than 98 percent of its $11 billion annual revenue.
"Adwords" is Google's proprietary program that enables its paying customers to use search terms, such as ABWF's trademarks, which trigger displays of advertisements of ABWF's competitors.
ABWF, which sells custom window blinds and treatments and wall coverings, says it has lost customers and significant revenue as a result of what it calls trademark infringements.
Cheers
Amit thakur
Monday, May 14, 2007
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