Hot off the press. The courts just overturned the landmark ruling against adware maker WhenU that held it violated the trademarks of vision specialist 1-800-Contacts in the sale and distribution of pop-up advertising. This ruling does not bode well for our industry.
Court gives adware maker WhenU green light | CNET News.com

“The case is a victory for WhenU and all advertising software makers that rely on trademarks as a means to sell and display advertising… It could also stand to affect the lucrative search advertising market dominated by Google, which similarly sells text ads by allowing marketers to bid on branded or trademarked keywords. Google has been the target of several complaints related to its advertising practices… Legal experts say it’s ultimately a win for consumers. “The court made it clear that trademark owners cannot use trademark law to interfere with a consumer’s choice about how to organize their desktop or the tools consumers use to find information…” said Eric Goldman… in support of WhenU.”

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