a. Hamzik v. Zale Corp./Delaware, 2007 WL 1174863 (NDNY April 19, 2007)

A federal judge has ruled that the rights of trademark holders may be violated when their terms are used by others as part of the actual ad copy. So the case survived defendant's motion to dismiss.

• April 25, 2007: Mills, Elinor, Court questions Zale's use of trademark in paid search text, CNet:
  "A federal court judge has ruled that referencing a trademarked term in ad text generated by a Web search may violate trademark rights."

b. Google, Inc. v. American Blinds & Wallpaper Factory, Inc., C 03-5340 JF (N.D. Cal. April 18, 2007)

U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose, Calif., refused to completely dismiss a lawsuit filed by American Blind & Wallpaper Factory that alleges that Google's AdWords pay-per-click advertising system violates trademark law by allowing rivals of a company to buy ads that appear when people search for information on American Blind & Wallpaper Factory. The ruling granted some claims while rejecting others in Google's motion for summary judgment. "The large number of businesses and users affected by Google's AdWords program indicates that a significant public interest exists in determining whether the AdWords program violates trademark law," Fogel wrote in his decision.

• April 19, 2007: Judge refuses to dismiss Google trademark suit, CNet:
  "A U.S. judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Google that charges the Web search leader's AdWords program abuses trademarks."

• April 19, 2007: Goldman, Eric, Google Gets Mixed Bag in Latest Ruling in American Blinds Case, Technology & Marketing Law Blog