After a two-month lull in new trademark-infringement lawsuits ove...

form of “stucco and cement coated window and door trim” he calls Styrotrim, said Google’s recommendation of his trademark to competitors through its “suggestion tool” and sale of the trademark as a keyword constitutes infringement. Google has “facilitated the dilution of plaintiff’s customer base and diverted customers and traffic that rightfully is plaintiff’s, and plaintiff’s alone,” said the complaint. “In a sense, it’s a form of bait and switch advertising.” Jurin said Google’s labeling of its “sponsored link” section is deceptive and should be labeled “paid-for-placements” or a similar wording that conveys to users they aren’t organic search results. “In many cases, the link to the competitor’s website will appear higher and more conspicuously than the link for Plaintiff’s website.” Jurin asked the court to require “an accounting of all revenue earned by Google” connected to the sale of “Styrotrim” as a keyword, and the payment of that revenue or a percentage of it to Jurin. He also wants actual damages times three or statutory damages of $500 or more per infringing use, plus punitive damages. The European Court of Justice advocate general recently said in a nonbinding opinion that keyword sales weren’t infringement (WID Sept 23 p1).