1-800 Contacts is suing Lensworld.com claiming trademark infringement over Lensworld allegedly buying “1800Contacts” as a keyword to trigger its ads on Google and other search engines.
Though keyword lawsuits aren’t uncommon, this plaintiff is newsworthy because 1-800 Contacts lost a similar precedent-setting lawsuit in 2005 against WhenU on appeal that has spawned at least six rulings against other plaintiffs, according to Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University.
Also of note, the company filed the lawsuit in Utah, a state known for passing very badly crafted Internet legislation, including a law last spring that hasn’t been implemented that would have restricted the use of trademarks in keyword advertising.
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