Howdy dsheppard-ga,
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investment, accounting, or other professional advice."
The Search Engine Watch web site has a great web page on just this subject,
titled "Meta Tag Lawsuits" and containing case citations, etc.
http://searchenginewatch.com/resources/article.php/2156551
"Key cases about this issue are summarized below, and there are links to
more information."
The above article references a Virginia Law Review Association 50 page
"note" titled "Search Engines, HTML And Trademarks: What's the Meta For?"
as written by F. Gregory Lastowka.
http://www.chaihana.com/Metafor.pdf
"Meta tags, pieces of HTML code used to create Web pages, play a key role
in this bid for attention by letting Web site creators describe the contents
of their sites to search engines."
The above is a great, and almost definitive, reference work on the subject.
The Nolo.com web site has an article named "Meta Tags and Customer Confusion"
that delves into the possible fair uses of trademarks on an competitor's web
site, including the meta tags.
http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/A20673AB-676B-43D5-826517CBCE04A322/
"The deceptive use of another company's trademark in this way can result in a
successful trademark infringement lawsuit, leading to an award of financial
damages and, in some cases, attorney fees. But there are some instances when
the use of another company's trademark is permitted in a meta tag."
The Law,com web site has an article that addresses the potential damage that
could be caused even if the offending meta tag is removed. The article is
titled "Biopharm Company Alleges Rival Used Trademark in Web Site Metatags"
and was written by Jessica M. Walker of the "Daily Business Review."
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1102340121387
"Samuel Lewis, an attorney with the Miami firm FeldmanGale who specializes
in computer law, said that even in a situation where the metatag had been
removed, it would still linger on the Web because the Internet archives its
contents."
My reading of the above articles and references is that if there is a
likelihood of confusion, deception or a dilution of the trademark, those are
the "best" scenarios for a lawsuit. However, if the trademark is used in a
comparative or descriptive manner, that might be a "weaker" basis for a suit.
But, as the Nolo.com article referenced above points out, "Unfortunately,
there is no clear test for proving fair use, and even a merely descriptive
use of a trademark in a meta tag may trigger a lawsuit."
There might also be the situation that in order for your client to protect
their trademark, they might, under certain circumstances, such as dilution
of their trademark, be "obligated" to file suit in order to protect the
trademark.
Another Law.com article, titled "Trademark Lawsuits: The Price of Online
Griping" and written by Tresa Baldas of the "National Law Journal," addresses
this point.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1101738481523
"'It's the obligation of the trademark owner to protect its mark and in my
view these cases are filed in good faith,' said [trademark attorney Virginia]
Richard, who heads Winston & Strawn's intellectual property department in New
York."
If you need any clarification, please feel free to ask.
Search strategy:
Google search on: lawsuit trademark metatag OR "meta tag"
://www.google.com/search?q=lawsuit+trademark+metatag+OR+%22meta+tag%22
Google search on: trademark sue infringement obligation
://www.google.com/search?q=trademark+sue+infringement+obligation
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher |
