Language software maker Rosetta Stone Inc. has agreed to drop its trademark infringement lawsuit against Google Inc. over its search practices.
The companies agreed to settle all claims and dismiss the case in an appeal filed in the District Court of Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday. The terms of the agreement have not been clarified.
The lawsuit alleges that selling Google’s trademarks to other companies for sponsored links could result in trademark infringement.
“Rosetta Stone Inc. and Google have agreed to work together to reject a three-year trademark infringement lawsuit and to combat online advertising for counterfeit products and to prevent misuse and abuse of trademarks on the Internet,” the companies said. . joint statement on Wednesday
In a 2009 lawsuit, Rosetta Stone accused Google of violating the trademark by selling the trademarks to third-party advertisers for use as search keywords. Google allows advertisers to receive sponsored link ads at the top of search results pages.
Rosetta Stone has argued that people who search for their products on Google are targeted by competitors and software scammers.
A Virginia federal court rejected the lawsuit in 2010, ruling that the sale of keywords would not confuse consumers. However, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, reopened much of the case in April, allowing Rosetta Stone to continue its claims of violating Google’s trademark and diluting the Rosetta Stone brand.
Rosetta Stone provided statements from consumers who bought fake Rosetta Stone software from Google-sponsored links and confused it with the original brand.
Region 4 also cited Google’s internal research that even experienced consumers are sometimes unaware that sponsored links are advertising.
The lawsuit was filed by Rosetta Stone Ltd and Google Inc., District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, USA. 09-736.
