Intellectual Property Law

1-800 Contacts Sues LensWorld For Keyword Advertising

By Marty Schwimmer

Prof Goldman: "1-800 Contact Sues LensWorld For Keyword Advertising"

In any case, the LensWorld lawsuit is a garden-variety advertiser-vs.-advertiser keyword advertising lawsuit. Based on the limited data we have, I'm guessing the Utah federal court will deem keyword advertising a trademark use in commerce, but after that, who knows? The only twist here is that 1-800 Contacts claims that LensWorld aped their FAQs, prompting a tossed-in copyright infringement claim as part of the package. Also I can't help but note that there appear to be many other possible defendants who are buying 1800contacts as a keyword (see the screenshot in para. 22/page 6)...is a 1-800 Contacts litigation frenzy imminent, or is LensWorld uniquely positioned for 1-800 Contacts' enmity?

Full post as published by Trademark Blog on January 11, 2008 (boomark / email).