Of all the companies in existence, a blinds and wallpaper outfit would seem to be one of the least likely to sue Google. But sue Google it (the American Blind & Wallpaper Factory) did, and the lawsuit has finally been resolved. No surprises here: Google won.
The resolution actually came in the form of a settlement (instead of an outright legal triumph), but the Technology and Marketing Law Blog’s Eric Goldman still characterized it as “a stunning victory for Google,” and continued, “According to a copy of the settlement agreement sent to me, Google isn’t paying any money to settle the dispute, and the settlement merely says that American Blinds won’t sue Google so long as Google follows its current trademark policy.”
In case you’re confused at this point, our own David Utter covered the inception of the suit. To return to current events, however, Goldman then wrote, “So, after spending enormous amounts on lawyers over the past 4 years, American Blinds gained absolutely nothing from the litigation. Instead, American Blinds ends the litigation worse than when it started (putting aside the legal fees); it had a judge declare two of its purported trademarks unenforceable, and it wrote a check to Google as a sanction for mismanaging the discovery process.”
That check may or may not have covered Google’s own legal fees, but any company with a market cap of $163 billion can probably afford a few lawyers. This whole mess may even be a good thing, from Google’s point of view, if other potential litigants have learned to steer clear.
