Whether an ad appearing alongside organic search results for a search consisting of a trademark, creates a likelihood of confusion with that trademark, may depend in part on the user’s ability to distinguish what on the search results page is an organic result and what is a paid result.
Publicly available research in the topic
Dave Winer on Wiki
Dave Winer comments on the flap caused by Adam Curry allegedly anonymously altering the contents of the Wiki entry on podcasting. On a different point, I had mentioned earlier this week that trademark owners whose marks were susceptible to genericide would do well to monitor Wiki entries on those marks.
For what it’s worth,
STARBUCKS v SAMBUCKS
‘Women Turn To Online Rentals For Handbags’
Instrument Shaped Objects For Beginners
Asking For Trouble
In the Nov/Dec issue, Law Firm, Inc notes that as a result of the Foley Hoag v. Foley Lardner matter, it will be ‘keeping an eye on Baker & McKenzie; Baker, Botts, and Baker & Hostetler; Holland & Knight, Holland & Hart; Fish & Richardson and The Fish and Neave IP Group of Ropes &
From a reader
What Does Wiki Say About Your Brand?
Something for trademark lawyers to do when its slow: search Wikipedia to see what it says about your brands. One reason has to do with preventing genericide (I suspect that the lawyers for THERMOS and PING PONG have been in conact with the folk at Wiki.
There’s also the corporate image thing. Pick any controversial
Hasbro Defends Irkutsk
Via Slashdot, a demand letter sent to the distributor of a game based on RISK, using Google map:
December 1, 2005
By FedEx and Email
SPAM on spam
Position statement from Hormel, owner of the SPAM trademark, discussing use of ‘spam’ for un-solicited commercial email.’ Statement properly includes attribution to Monty Python.