Geico launches trademark suit against Google and Overture
19 May 2004
Auto insurance company Geico is suing both Google and Overture for alleged trademark violations in search-related advertisements.
Geico filed a lawsuit against Google and Yahoo-owned Overture at the federal court in Alexandria, VA, on May 4th.
The complaint states that Overture and Google infringed on the company's trademarks when they sold them as keywords. The lawsuit points out that this is a violation of the Lanham Act, the primary federal law covering trademark registration and protection.
Google and Overture have slightly different policies regarding sale of advertising keywords. Google is already facing several lawsuits in the US and Europe over improper trademark use.
Janice Minshall of Geico said, "This practice deliberately misleads consumers and allows Geico's competitors and these defendants to illegally exploit for their own commercial purposes Geico's investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in its brand."
Geico is seeking monetary damages as well as an injunction against the two companies that would cease the use of its trademarks.
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