WebProNews

Court's Ruling On Trademarked Keyword

It appears that US courts are getting more and more savvy about Internet marketing (or US attorneys are getting more and more savvy about their “expert” witnesses in these cases!).

The SEO Trademark Drama

Earlier this month we informed our readers that a guy named Jason Gambert had been running around in the Trademark Office trying to get the term Search Engine Optimization (SEO) trademarked. Well his wish just ran into a brick wall and now things have gotten really nasty.

Court: Who Cares About Keyword Metatags?

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.

Man on his Way to Trademark "SEO"

Sarah Bird, Esquire, of SEOmoz, Inc., happened upon the applicant’s request as she was working on some trademarks for SEOmoz. Not only is the applicant actually trying to obtain a trademark for the mark “SEO,” but he is also already on the way to the publication process.   

Google AdWords Case Is Sadly Funny

Here's the understatement of the week: "This wasn't the best-argued case of the day." New York Law School professor James Grimmelmann was referring to the resurrection of computer repair company Rescuecomm's lawsuit against Google, which was dismissed in 2006, but is now up for review by a federal appeals court.

SEO Being Trademarked?

It seems the world we live in has recently been relocated to the 'Twilight Zone'. The reason being, that recently a man named Jason Gambert is trying to register 'SEO' as a trademark. The most shocking point in this bizarre event is that he has managed to get all the way to the publication stage of the registration process.

Wal-Mart Loses Online Trademark Case

A Conyers, Georgia man has won a legal battle with retail giant Wal-Mart who accused the man of violating its trademark for selling T-shirts and other items that featured the phrases "Wal-ocaust" and "Wal-Qaeda."

Trademark Keyword Issue Far From Settled

We can only expect this issue to be brought before the courts more and more, which might mean it is eventually decided by much higher courts: Does targeting your competitor's trademark keyword in search ads constitute "use in commerce," and thus a trademark violation.

Competitor Keyword Bid Could Bring Lawsuits

The issue of whether bidding on a competitor's trademark keyword for search advertising constitutes "use in commerce" isn't one that is settled yet, and may not be settled for some time. That's not going to stop the lawsuits, though.Or seemingly duplicitous behavior.There have been several Second Circuit court rulings that it's okay to bid on your competitor's keyword in search advertising and that it does not constitute use in commerce.

Google To Trademark Knol, Dalvik

Call it a unit of knowledge, but beware of calling it a 'knol', as Google has applied to trademark the term.