Could it be that France is holding a grudge against Google going back as far as 2003 – (“did you mean: French military defeats?”) ? Doubtful, but with as many as 15 lawsuits active in the court system, it kinda makes you wonder. Google knew what it was doing when it opted not to continue [...]
Could it be that France is holding a grudge against Google going back as far as 2003 – (“did you mean: French military defeats?”) ? Doubtful, but with as many as 15 lawsuits active in the court system, it kinda makes you wonder.
Google knew what it was doing when it opted not to continue screening for trademarks in the beginning of 2004, opening itself up to more money and more problems. As someone who was working for Google during the policy change, I can assure you it was not the smoothest of transitions. Disgruntled clients were many and the available response channels moved at glacier speed. Stories like the one about Perfect 10 cited in this article on CNET were not uncommon.
Google is owning up to the controversy, however. It said in an SEC filing last August that, “Adverse results in these lawsuits may result in, or even compel, a change in this practice, which could result in a loss of revenue for us, which could harm our business.”
The company isn’t without options. Google could offer to exclude trademark names for their ad programs altogether, or instead create some sort of system whereby trademark owners get paid by those who use their trademark names in ad sales, etc.
