Out-Law: Google sued over keyword advertising – again

Google is now being sued for the same controversial legal issue that once tied up Claria, WhenU and other adware providers. Rescuecom sued Google when a competitor to which it sent a cease and desist letter notified Rescuecom that it wasn't using its trademarks as a means of targeting ads, but rather that Google's AdWords system was itself drawing the connection between the companies and using it as a means to target ads. Google's targeting system, in effect, figured out that people interested in one company were likely interested in the other, and chose search results pages with one as a good place to advertise the other. For this, Rescuecom is suing Google, claiming it infringes its trademark.

The suit bears similarities to the large lawsuit a bevy of publishers and marketers lodged and then later settled against Claria, claiming that its targeting - especially when linked to competitor advertising - violated their intellectual property. Since no high-level court case has gone all the way to decision on the issue, the legal implications remain uncertain.