October 28, 2008 by Matt Thomas
Search engine provider, Yahoo is being sued by one of the world’s leading airlines over copyright infringement. The unusual case boils down to this, American Airlines claims that, by allowing its competitors to bid on several of their trademarks, including AAdvantage and American Eagle, as keywords Yahoo has infringed their rights.
According to American Airlines Yahoo has allowed their competitors to become the top ranked advertising results on products that are unequivocally their property, allowing other companies a “Free ride on American Airlines brands.” Importantly, the Airline also believes that Yahoo, as well as clearly providing the technology to do so, has “Knowingly encouraged,” these activities.
This is a particular hobby horse of American Airlines’, they tried the same thing with Google last year and reportedly settled out of court for an undisclosed fee. If this case goes to trial it will be hugely important in terms of precedent as this is an issue in which no clear guidance exists. However, it is expected to go the same way as last year’s Google suit.
Interestingly though, European and UK trademarks are seen as much stronger than their US counterparts. It’s thought by legal experts that in a lawsuit heard by a British court, an infringement would be found. It can only be a matter of time…
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