WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The use of the GEICO trademark to
trigger Google paid ads that include the GEICO name violate the federal
trademark laws. The judge presiding over the lawsuit filed by GEICO against
Google Inc. ruled today that evidence presented by GEICO conclusively proves
that such Google ads infringe GEICO's trademarks.
The decision today by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in an oral
decision, to be followed by a written opinion, also found that GEICO has not
presented sufficient evidence in this case for her to conclude that Google
paid ads not containing the GEICO trademark, resulting from the use of GEICO
as a search term, violate the trademark laws.
The decision today left open the issue of whether the sale of GEICO's
trademarks by Google or any other search engine, in and of itself, violates
the trademark laws or other laws.
"GEICO will continue to aggressively enforce its trademark rights against
purchasers of its trademark on search engines and against search engines that
continue to sell its trademarks," said GEICO General Counsel Charles Davies.
GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the fifth-largest
private passenger auto insurer in the United States. It provides auto
insurance coverage for more than 6 million policyholders and insures more than
9.5 million vehicles. GEICO uses television, radio, print media and direct
mail to attract customers to call its 1-800-841-3000 number and to its
http://www.geico.com Web site, and keeps its rates low by dealing directly with the
customer. GEICO offers sales and claim services 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. For more information, go to http://www.geico.com.
SOURCE GEICO
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Related links:
http://www.geico.com
CONTACT:
Charles D. Ossola of Arnold & Porter,
+1-202-942-5075
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