A distributor of window blinds and wallpaper has filed a lawsuit against Google, saying the search engine’s keyword-based advertising violates its trademarks. American Blind and Wallpaper Factory, based in Plymouth, Michigan, filed the trademark lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Tuesday. Codefendants in the lawsuit include Netscape Communications and Ask Jeeves, sites that use Google’s search engine.

Trademark Tussle

American Blind argues that Google, by selling keyword-based advertising to competing retailers when Google users search on “American Blind” or “American Blinds” is violating the company’s trademark. American Blind had threatened to file the lawsuit last year. That prompted Google, in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California November 26, to argue that “American” and “Blind” and other words American Blind was claiming as trademarks are descriptive and shouldn’t enjoy trademark protection. The two companies had been sparring over the trademark dispute for about a year. American Blind is asking the New York court for an injunction requiring Google to stop keyword-based advertising on its trademarks. The retailer is also seeking damages that are yet to be determined, said David Rammelt, American Blind’s lawyer.

News source: PCWorld