This is the last
update before the summer break. The next update will be in August or September
2004!
1. Google sued for libel
On March 25, 2003, Mark Maughan,
a certified public accountant with the Brown & Maughan firm, googled his
name and found some "alarming, false, misleading and injurious
results" about himself and his firm. Specifically, he alleges that the
search results falsely represent that plaintiffs Maughan and/or Brown &
Maughan have e.g. been disciplined for gross negligence. The plaintiff's
attorney, John A. Girardi, claims that the error was created because of Google's
PageRank algorithm. His argument seems to be based around the idea that Google
provides "snippets" of text from a website when it creates its search
engine results listings. In his view PageRank "reformats information
obtained from accurate sources, resulting in changing of the context in which
information is presented." To better illustrate this case, consider another
example. My website features articles about several lawsuits. In some of them
Playboy was the plaintiff. If someone searches for my name "Stephan
Ott", it is possible that Google would list my website with the text
snippets: "Stephan Ott ... Playboy .... illegally published copyrighted
materials". Would any search engine user believe I'm a playboy that offers
illegal material? Without clicking on the link to my website, I doubt it, but
Mark Maughan doesn't. His lawsuit seeks an injunction to force Google to
discontinue use of the PageRank system as well as requesting unspecified
monetary damages. Yahoo! and AOL-Time Warner were also listed as co-defendants.
Well, someone better tell the plaintiff that the PageRank algorithm only is one
factor that determines on which position a website is listed within the search
results (see Technical
Background: Search Engines).
March 22: Google
Sued Over PageRank, webpronews:
"A man in Southern California is irate over the results of
“Googling” his name. Mark Maughan, certified public accountant of the
Brown & Maughan firm, believes the search results for “Mark Maughan”
contained “alarming, false, misleading and injurious results.”
March 19, 2004: Accountant
"Googles" Himself, Sues for Libel, NBC 4:
"A South Bay accountant who said an Internet search engine returned
"alarming" information about him and his firm sued Google, AOL,
Time Warner and Yahoo! Friday for libel."
2. Google sued for trademark
infringement
Insurance company Axa is suing
Google in France for allowing its competitors to buy targeted ads on the search
engine’s search results pages that use or are associated with Axa trademarks.
This is latest the suit charging Google with the sale of a company's trademark
to its competition through AdWords, Google's keyword search placement network. A
preliminary hearing is set for 10th May. Here is an overview over pending lawsuits
against Google.
April 27, 2004: Olsen,
Stefanie / Fiutak, Martin, Axa
verklagt Google, ZDNet:
"Versicherungskonzern wehrt sich gegen bezahlte Werbung mit dem eigenen
Namen"
April 27, 2004: AXA
sues Google over keyword advertising, Out-Law.com:
"Google is gearing up for a legal battle in the French courts over its
keyword advertising sales service."
April 26, 2004: Axa
klagt gegen Google, Heise:
"Der französische Versicherungskonzern AXA ist in Frankreich gegen den
Suchmaschinenbetreiber Google vor Gericht gegangen."
April 26, 2004: Oates, John,
Google
back in court over Adwords, The Register:
"French insurance giant AXA is taking Google to court over allegations
that the search engine sold on AXA trademarks as search terms."
3. ShareReactor
The Swiss Judical
Inquiry Department of Thurgau has taken down the ShareReactor web site due to
copyright infringement. ShareReactor was online for about 30 months and served
as a link platform for filesharing offerings, especially as an anchorpoint for
links to downloads of copyright and trademark protectet games and movies. The
site made the "search" feature of filesharing programs irrelevant by
using hash codes to directly link to a file.
March 18, 2004: ShareReactor:
Schweizer Polizei macht Piratenplattform dicht, Golem:
"ShareReactor.com, ein Web-Verzeichnis für raubkopierte Filme und
Software, das eDonkey-Links zu tausenden von Angeboten bereithielt, ist vom
Netz genommen worden."
March 18, 2004: Schweizer Polizei stoppt sharereactor.com,
Futurezone:
"Das kantonale Untersuchungsrichteramt Thurgau hat nach einer Anzeige
durch die Anti-Piraterie-Vereinigung die populäre Peer-to-peer-Linksite
Sharerector.com vom Netz genommen."
April 22, 2004: Google
ignoring trade marks in keyword sales, Out-Law.com:
"Google is to abandon its policy of screening for trade marks when
advertisers select keywords for its popular AdWords service. Observers are
warning that it risks being sued by companies who find their brands being
sponsored to promote the web sites of rivals."
April 14, 2004: Keine
Werbung für Online-Casinos bei Google & Co, derStandard.at:
"Die beiden Webportale und Suchmaschinenbetreiber Google und Yahoo
wollen künftig keine Werbung für Online-Casinos auf ihren Websites
bringen."
April 13, 2004:
Olsen, Stefanie, Google
plans trademark gambit, CNet:
"Google plans to stop limiting sales of trademarks in its popular
keyword advertising program, a high-stakes gamble that could boost revenue
but also create new legal problems for the company."
April 6, 2004:
McCullagh, Declan, Judge
won't toss out Google, Overture suit:
"A federal judge in New York has rejected requests from Google and
Overture Services to throw out a lawsuit that claims the two search
companies unlawfully sold advertising based on a pet store owner's
registered trademark."
Ist der Preis eines beworbenen Produkts erst nach dem Anklicken
eines Links mit dem Text "Top Tagespreis" in Erfahrung zu bringen,
liegt ein Verstoß gegen die PreisangabenVO vor.
New in Legal
Resources
Walker, Craig, Application
of the DMCA Safe Harbor Provisions to Search Engines, Virginia Journal of
Law & Technology, Winter 2004, Vol. 9 No. 2, p. 1-23
Newsarchive
The Links & Law
website is updated regularily,
so check back for updated
information and resources about
search engine and linking issues.