(Adds comments from Google representative in fifth, seventh and
eighth paragraphs; updates stock price in last paragraph)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Language-education firm Rosetta Stone Inc. (RST) filed a
trademark lawsuit against Google Inc. (GOOG), accusing the search
giant of allowing third parties - including software pirates - to
buy the right to use Rosetta Stone trademarks.
Google has been hit with several similar suits related to its
Adworks program, which allows advertisers to link to search keyword
searches.
But Rosetta Stone General Counsel Michael Wu said instead it
helps third parties "mislead consumers and misappropriate Rosetta
Stone trademarks" by using them as "keyword triggers for paid
advertisements and by using them within the text or title of paid
advertisements."
Google and its advertisers "benefit financially from and trade
off the goodwill and reputation of Rosetta Stone without incurring
the substantial expense that Rosetta Stone has incurred in building
up its popularity, name recognition, and brand loyalty," Wu
said.
Google spokesman Andrew Pederson said he couldn't comment
directly on the suit since the company hadn't yet been served.
Google said in late May that it would allow advertisers to place
ads based on keyword searches using trademarked terms on some
results pages. "Our policy aims to balance the interests of users,
advertisers, and trademark owners while leveling the playing field
for all advertisers," Google said at the time.
Pederson said Friday that Google allows trademarks to be used as
keyword triggers in AdWords because users searching on Google
benefit from being able to choose from a variety of competing
advertisers.
"It's completely normal for a supermarket to stock different
brands of cereal on the same shelf or for a magazine to run Ford
ads opposite of an article about Toyota, so it doesn't make sense
to limit competition online by restricting the number of choices
available to users," Pederson said. "Just as it's reasonable to
expect a range of brands on any shelf in a grocery store, providing
users on Google with more than one option when they search for a
brand name or other trademark helps them to find the best product
at the lowest price."
Rosetta Stone, which had its initial public offering in April,
offers language-learning software for about 30 languages. Its
shares were recently flat at $26.10, while Google added 0.8% to
$413.83.
-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2330;
mike.barris@dowjones.com