Fly By Night

Of course, I can't get enough search engine + copyright stories, and there was a big one this week, as Reuters reported that "American Airline Sues Google Over Ads." The specifics of American Airlines Inc v. Google Inc have received some analysis on The Technology & Marketing Law Blog. American Airlines is claiming that Google is violating trademark law by selling ads to competitors who enter "American Airlines" or otherwise search for aa.com. Google has won similar cases before, facing companies like Geico, and among the major airlines, American has done well by the Internet, despite its generic name that miight not be seen by all searchers as a trademarked brand. They captured some valuable real estate with a rare two-letter URL, and I often see them appear on my travel searches.