Always-On: Google Adwords

Always-On reports that Jan Mackenzie, called a search-engine expert and president of The National SE-club, claims to be preparing a class action suit against Google for having denied its AdWords customers the use of trademarked and untrademarked keywords. Mackenzie reportedly has thousands of complainers adding to his list of damages, which average roughly $5,000 per would-be plaintiff. The suit will total about $30 million in claimed damages, he said, although his remarks reveal a relatively abbreviated understanding of how federal class action suits work.

Of course, Google can do whatever it pleases, and doesn't have to cater to fancies of AdWords customers with any particular level of completeness of keyword availability. It may also choose not to make available words like "beer" and "casino" - part of the complaint - available to advertisers without risking any serious threat of lawsuit.