Judge refuses to dismiss Google trademark suit

The logo of Google Inc. is seen outside their headquarters building in Mountain View, California August 18, 2004. A U.S. judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Google Inc. charging that the Web search leader's adWords program abuses trademarks.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Google Inc. charging that the Web search leader's adWords program abuses trademarks.

In making his decision that effectively allows the case to move forward, U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Vogel ruled that the public has an interest in whether Google adWords violates U.S. trademark law.

American Blind & Wallpaper Factory Inc., the top U.S. reseller of window blinds, charged in its lawsuit that Google abuses trademarks by allowing rivals of a company to buy ads that appear when consumers search the Web for information on that business.

Google has prevailed in two prior trademark suits filed against its pay-per-click ads. Auto insurer GEICO lost a Virginia district court ruling and computer repair site Rescuecom lost a similar federal case against Google, but is appealing.