Back in September of 2004 Google argued for a motion to dismiss the case American Blinds had brought against it on illegal use of trademark terms in the AdWords network. Most of the requests in that motion were denied yesterday, I have learned. The court upheld American Blind’s rights to continue its case on claims of trademark infringtement, unfair competition, contributory trademark infringement and contributory dilution. The court did, however, grant Google’s motion to throw out American Blinds’ claims of “tortious interference with prospective business advantage.” I have a copy of the ruling, should anyone care to see it – jbat at battellemedia dot com.
This is related to the Geico case, which is still ongoing, though Google did win a portion of it.
This means the case will continue, and if its findings are materially different from those of Geico, resolution may ultimately occur in the Supreme Court, which is currently busy with Grokster, of course. (More on that in July, when the ruling hits.)