All in a Day’s Work: Google Finishes off AOL Deal, Keyword Court Fight Could Threaten Revenue
|
Written By Reprise Media | March 30, 2006 | Share This
|
|
It’s been a tumultuous couple of months for Big G, but it’s been a very good week. They will soon join the S&P 500, which has in part prompted them to file for sale of 5.3 million common stock shares (worth 2.1 billion for the company coffers) to help meet the demand expected from index funds. And Google’s domination of the US search market continues, as they now command about 42 percent of all searches, according to ComScore’s estimates. And yesterday afternoon they put the final touches on their billion dollar deal to buy a five percent stake of AOL, their biggest advertising partner.
First announced back in December, the arrangement would provide AOL a 300 million dollar advertising credit for use on Google’s network. In exchange, Google can apparently force the company to become a publicly traded entity in 2008. Google’s stock has reacted with some volatility to all the news, sailing almost as high as 400 last night; as of this writing it’s hovering just below the 390 mark.
But 2006 continues to be the Year of Legal Difficulties for Google. There’s another problematic court case brewing, and one that the search giant will be watching from afar to boot. Webpronews says that Edina Realty, Inc. is suing TheMLSonline.com for appropriating its name (and misspelled variations thereof) for paid search campaigns on Google and Yahoo.
There have been legal keyword flaps before involving the engines, but Eric Goldman’s Technology and Marketing Law blog calls this “the first case substantively analyzing a purchaser’s liability for buying a competitor’s keyword.” Goldman’s excellent summation cautions that although Edina Realty hasn’t won its case, a ruling in its favor could be a potentially devastating outcome for Google, or any engine selling search ads: “To the extent that competitors’ ad purchases constitute direct trademark infringement, Google may face an elevated risk of being deemed a contributory infringer.” Even worse, “This could permanently reduce the market size for keyword ad sales.” Is this going to be a re-run of Geico v. Google, or a ruling with more long-term legal ramifications?
Topics: Search: News |