Trademark lawyers have repeatedly tried to make the case that dropping a competitor’s trademarked terms in website metatags are a violation of trademark law. A new court decision, though, says otherwise.

The argument has rested on traditional tenets like potential for confusion, trademark dilution, use in commerce, and even product-switching. A new court decision, though, doesn’t let those arguments go forward until the plaintiff can prove keyword metatags count for anything at all.