Online mortgage lead generator LowerMyBills.com, an Experian company, announced it has obtained a court judgment in its copyright infringement lawsuit against comparison-shopping site NexTag, which has been ordered to pay $200,000 to LowerMyBills.com. The company said the judgment against NexTag is among the first obtained in a lawsuit involving claims of copyright infringement of online advertising, paving the way for other online advertisers to protect their intellectual property. LowerMyBills is now pursuing separate lawsuits against other companies for copyright infringement.

"While some people might think imitation is the highest form of flattery, my advice is just be careful what you do is not illegal," Beth Kirsch, who directs the email, affiliate marketing, and lead generation channels at LowerMyBills, writes in Revenews.

LowerMyBills.com filed suit against NexTag in December 2004, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, for copyright infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition, claiming that NexTag copied LowerMyBills.com advertisements to drive traffic and create interest in NexTag's services.

It will be interesting, Kirsch writes, "to see what happens as companies now know they will be held accountable for copying other people's advertising - and the impact it has across the online industry. Not to mention search ads, affiliate sites and much more that are copied."

LowerMyBills.com is a top five internet advertiser and ranks first among financial advertisers, according to the company.