An online realty agency, TheMLSonline.com, purchased keywords matching the name of a competitor from Google and Yahoo.  Last week, the District Court for Minnesota issued a decision allowing the case to proceed to trial on Edina Realty's claim of trademark infringement.  This may be the first case to reach trial on the keyword issue.  See Edina Realty, Inc. v. TheMLSonline.com, 2006 WL 737064 (D. Minn. Mar. 20, 2006).

For more, see Eric Goldman's excellent report on his Technology & Marketing Law Blog, and this article at Cnet News.com.

 

 

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