The payday loans provider Check N’ Go has objected to Google’s practice of selling its trademark to competitors and filed suit against the search advertising company to stop the practice.
On a Google search for the phrase “Check N’ Go,” two sponsored links appear at the top of the results page, and eight more on the right side under “Sponsored Links.” None of those AdWords advertisements go to the Check N’ Go website, which does appear as the first organic search result in Google.
Check N’ Go’s corporate owner, CNG Financial, filed a lawsuit in federal court over this. CNG Financial has told the US District Court in Cincinnati it wants Google to cease selling its trademark as a keyword, AP reported.
The suit seeks a jury trial and various unspecified damages. CNG Financial claims the AdWords buys by competitors harm its business. The article noted comments from CNG and a response from Google on the issue:
“Because of the fame of the Check ‘n Go mark, these companies are willing to pay Google handsomely to have links to their Web sites appear in response to a search of that mark,” the lawsuit says.
Jon Murchinson, a spokesman for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, said the company’s policy was legal “and we’re willing to address it in court if need be.”
Google experienced this when direct auto insurance seller Geico also challenged the practice in federal court. In August 2005, a US District Court directed Geico and Google to try and settle their AdWords animosity out-of-court within a 30-day window.
The two firms did so, reaching a settlement in September 2005. Neither side commented on the terms of the settlement, but Geico did announce a week later they would go after other online infringers.
But today, a Google search on Geico does return a number of Sponsored Links to other websites, which would have had to purchase the Geico keyword to appear there.
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David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.
