Unfortunate: Appeals Court Revives Misguided Rosetta Stone Lawsuit Against Google

from the can't-we-get-this-straight-already?!? dept

There have been a number of silly lawsuits against Google for the fact that companies can buy AdWords ads based on trademarked terms. These lawsuits are problematic on a few different levels. First, using trademarked keywords to trigger ads isn't infringement. It's a perfectly reasonable use. In the same way that a supermarket often places coupons for certain brands/products near competing products, advertising competitors is perfectly reasonable. Second, even if there is trademark infringement, it should be limited to the advertiser itself, not to Google, who is merely the platform. Even though a few courts had more or less said this in the past, software company Rosetta Stone decided to sue anyway back in 2009. The lawsuit was dumped pretty quickly, with the court getting the big questions right (though it went a little weird on some of the finer points).

Rosetta Stone appealed, and basically got every company who hates Google to join in on the fun. Not only that, but Rosetta Stone even used its loss as a reason to support SOPA's predecessor, COICA, saying that Google is "the gateway for criminals into America."

No, I'm not joking. Rosetta Stone literally said the fact that Google allows competitors to put up ads based on trademarked keywords makes it the (not "a", but "the") "gateway for criminals into America."

Unfortunately, rather than give the company the slap down it deserves, it appears that a somewhat confused appeals court is reviving the case and sending it back to the lower court to reconsider. The reasoning in this 7th Circuit ruling is extremely troubling on a variety of levels.

Quite amazingly, the court actually suggests that there's a possibility that Google is guilty of direct infringement of Rosetta Stone's trademarks. This makes no sense. Even if you somehow twisted things to make Google liable in some manner or another, the only possible liability has to be for secondary liability, because it's not the one directly making use of the trademarks in the first place. It's providing the platform and the advertisers are using the marks. This is pretty basic stuff, and it makes you wonder the technical literacy of the appeals court panel (or why they presume to judge a case where they clearly don't understand what they're talking about).

Another bizarre point is on the question of "intent." The court accepts much of Rosetta Stone's argument that because Google changed its policy over time to allow greater usage of trademarked terms, that it had intent to infringe. While that is one possible interpretation, there are much more sensible explanations that aren't so nefarious. Google stopped allowing the use of trademarked terms early on because it was a waste of time and resources to fight stupid lawsuits like this one. As it continued to grow, it realized that there was no legal reason why it shouldn't allow such uses, and it changed its policies. And, of course, it then gets hit with a stupid lawsuit... and the court seems to use the fact that Google changed its policy as potential evidence that it "intended to cause confusion"? That makes no sense at all. Google knows damn well that if it "intends to cause confusion" that it's going to lose a trademark lawsuit. Why would it ever do that? The company made clear that it expected to get sued, but it was doing this because it believed the law was on its side. It's quite a twist to claim "intent" to "cause confusion" based on that.

Next, the appeals court accepts as evidence of confusion, Rosetta Stone finding some guy who was confused by a counterfeit reseller's site and bought a counterfeit version of their software. Note that the guy was not confused by Google, but by the third party site. The lower court smartly rejected this as anecdotal and properly pointed out that the confusion arose not from Google, but from the other site. But the appeals court rejects that argument and says that the testimony is valid.

After that, the court also moves on to the question of contributory (rather than direct infringement) and bizarrely argues that the reasonable standard set forth in the famous Tiffany v. eBay case cannot be applied at the summary judgment level. This was the ruling that found that eBay was not guilty of contributory trademark infringement for counterfeit goods sold on eBay, in part because eBay made reasonable efforts to remove the infringing content when it became aware of it. This is a reasonable standard, and one that it makes sense to use in this case also, as the lower court did. However, the appeals court basically says that this standard can really only be used after a costly and wasteful trial, even if the court could get around all that by noting the obvious fact that the service provider is a good actor in getting rid of infringing works when it learns of them.

Things get equally troubling when we get down to the question of trademark dilution. The lower court rejected Rosetta Stone's arguments here on a few factors, but the appeals court sends that back too. Specifically, the lower court pointed out that there was no dilution because Google wasn't using the Rosetta Stone trademarks to identify its own (different) products, thus there was no dilution. This is the correct interpretation of the law, because the entire point of the (very new) concept of "dilution" in trademark law is that it can't be used to "dilute" the value of the trademark by applying it to different products. Here, no one is claiming that Google is making use of Rosetta Stone's marks to impart the value of that mark on something different. So the lower court got that right... but the appeals court gets confused and denies this reasoning, instead saying that this is really a "fair use" discussion, which can only be used as a defense, rather than a proactive argument at the summary judgment stage. Once again, that's batty. It only encourages long, drawn-out, wasteful and useless trials where none are needed.

The court did accept some of the more minor arguments of the lower court, but sent back all of the major issues. Hopefully the district court does a full trial and still comes to the same (correct and reasonable) conclusion, but in the meantime, they have to waste time and resources on a silly trial that was properly dumped in the first place.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: adwords, competition, trademark
Companies: google, rosetta stone


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 10:34am

    I don't understand how a piece of granite has standing in a court of law.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      The Moondoggie(correction mode), 11 Apr 2012 @ 6:29pm

      Re:

      It's not granite, just similar to granite...

      Granodiorite is what the Rosetta stone is made off...

      /rant

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 10:37am

    It's remarkable how much smarter and more knowledgable you are than federal appellate court judges.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 10:43am

      Re:

      Well it's a pretty low bar...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mark Harrill (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:08am

      Re:

      Have you ever actually talked to a judge about technical matters at all? I used to help run IT for a courthouse and getting them to understand basics requires its own Rosetta Stone Geek -> Judge.

      Rulings like this show that they don't understand the technology involved and what the difference is between the purported infringer and the platform being used. By this logic if someone advertised on a billboard using my trademarked words, I could sue the billboard maker, the billboard owner AND the entity who rented the space to the billboard owner. Does that make sense?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:45am

        Re: Re:

        If you look at the issues raised, it doesn't appear to be particularly mired in technical detail. Issues like direct infringement, contributory infringement and intent don't seem masked in deep technological mystery in this case. I'd be willing to bet that counsel raised the issues that you brought up in a manner to inform the court and they looked at the law and were unpersuaded. What in the opinion leads you to believe that a lack of technical understanding, rather than the law, was the root cause for the remand?

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:49am

          Re: Re: Re:

          You're looking at it all wrong. Put on your TD t-shirt and drink some more Kool-Aid. If you disagree with the result, then the judge is an outdated old fogey who just doesn't "get" the internet. End of analysis.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 3:48pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            Gawd you're stupid. Not just stupid, stupid, but really ignorant-and-can't-fathom-button-fly-jeans stupid. It just oozes out of every orifice on my computer. I'm really getting concerned you're going to infect others...

            link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:24pm

          Re: Re: Re:

          Apparently the simple matter of adding 'on the internet' is enough to change what the law means. Could a newspaper be sued for direct trademark infringement if I used a trademark I don't control in a classified ad? Fuck no. Apparently adding 'on the internet' to this situation is enough technical detail to mire the case in so that a different conclusion was reached.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:17am

      Re:

      My thought as well, including keen insight into the entirety of the process and rules associated with summary judgements.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:23pm

      Re:

      It's remarkable that you have yet to raise a valid point and expect anyone to take you seriously.

      If you can't raise a valid point because you don't have one then don't expect to be taken seriously.

      If you can't be bothered to raise a valid point because you're too lazy then expect that no one can be bothered to take you seriously.

      Trademark law is to prevent people from falsely representing an entity. One should be able to reference an entity's name in order to reference the entity, for instance, if criticizing that entity or giving it positive reviews or discussing it in general or selling a product originating from that entity (ie: a used Honda Civic). What trademark should prevent is me from selling a a non-Canon printer while advertising it as a Canon printer. Trademark is (or at least should be) to protect consumers from being mislead, not to protect companies from talking about them and re-selling and re-advertising their products.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Nathan F (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 10:43am

    Once again, were I in charge of Google I would summarily have anything with the name or from Rosetta Stone removed from any search result Google provides.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      MrWilson, 11 Apr 2012 @ 10:53am

      Re:

      Rosetta Stone would just file another ridiculous lawsuit, this time about how Google is colluding with RS' competitors to push it out of the market or something silly like that.

      Also, Egyptologists would rightly have reason to complain.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike42 (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 10:54am

      Re:

      Exactly. Let Rosetta Stone pay for it's own advertising!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 10:58am

    I always love it - when the courts do something you agree with, they are smart and intelligent. When they do something you don't like, they are "confused".

    Talk about bias!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Memphis Slim.ru, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:10am

      Re:

      It is an OPINION blog, Asshat.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      John Danielson, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:16am

      Re:

      Or when they're being smart and intelligent, they're smart and intelligent. (Your lack of grasp on synonyms is obvious and apparent.) When they're confused, they're confused.

      Being right often makes you biased toward being right, without considering all the possible wrong answers?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Chosen Reject (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:26am

        Re: Re:

        I'm tired of all this "right" and "wrong" business. You see it often in schools. My teachers were always biased towards the students that did their homework, and wrote their tests in such a biased way that only smart kids could succeed. Every time I complained, the teacher would launch into some diatribe about how my answers were "wrong" and the other students' answers were "right". Utter hogwash, I say. It's bias, man, pure and simple.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:34am

          Re: Re: Re:

          woosh! Yup, right over your head.

          You are making the same stupid assumption that Mike makes, that there is a RIGHT and WRONG answer here. When the courts rule against Mike's wishes, they are WRONG. When they agree with him, they are RIGHT.

          The problem is, in this case that may be RIGHT, even if they don't agree with Mike.

          There is no absolute right answer here, so yeah, you missed the point entirely!

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Lord Binky, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:42am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            This isn't an Ink Blot test (I have a feeling you'd give them some interesting answers), There is a correct answer. If you are trying to define something, and decide whether or not anything fits that definition, there is a correct answer. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and has genetics like a duck... is it a duck? Under your assumption, you can't be wrong saying it's a goat.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:43am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            Holy crap do you twist logic to avoid appearing like you don't know what you're talking about.

            If it makes you feel any better, instead of "right" we'll say, "consistent with the intent of the law" or "in alignment with the public benefits intended by the application of the law."

            So, these federal judges appear to fail to understand the objectives and application of liability. Or are you suggesting that the application of liability should be on a case-by-case basis and not consistent with any common principles?

            link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:58am

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              "If it makes you feel any better, instead of "right" we'll say, "consistent with what Mike thinks is the intent of the law" or "in alignment with what Mike sees as the public benefits intended by the application of the law.""

              FTFY.

              link to this | view in chronology ]

              • icon
                Torg (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:07pm

                Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

                Do you have any coherent objections to this article, or are you just going to keep rephrasing "Mike disagrees with the court's decision" in the hope that we get annoyed and give up?

                link to this | view in chronology ]

              • identicon
                Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 3:50pm

                Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

                Wait, and you're claiming the post is biased? Do you even understand what *you* write? Or do you just monkey-type?

                link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            Torg (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:45am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            There's no right answer to "is Google in the same business as Rosetta Stone" or "does Google act to remove infringing material once it becomes aware of it"?

            link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            ChrisB (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:58am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            There are no right or wrong, only consequences. Mike is pointing out that the consequences are far-reaching and idiotic.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Dave, 11 Apr 2012 @ 5:44pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            You are completely, utterly, and without any equivocation wrong.

            Either Google is infringing *or* they are not. This is not new case law and the precedent *clearly* points to not. The judge freaked out because he saw the name Google on the docket and saw his chance to tame the wild wild west of the internet.

            Because the internet is different. Even when it is the same.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 7:21pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              The judge freaked out because he saw the name Google on the docket and saw his chance to tame the wild wild west of the internet.

              Appellate courts consist of panels of judges, not a single judge. Derp. Must be a conspiracy.

              link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:21am

      Re:

      I always love it - when the courts do something you agree with, they are smart and intelligent. When they do something you don't like, they are "confused".

      Talk about bias!

      Yep. Pirate Mike has the worst-known case of confirmation bias on the planet, but there is a certain beauty in working backwards like Pirate Mike: Whether or not the court got it "right" is determined by whether or not Mike likes the result, which in turn is determined by whether or not the result is good for rights holders. If the decision hurts rights holders, then it's "right," and vice versa.

      You can play along at home! No actual analysis needed!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:16pm

        Re: Re:

        IP privilege holders are irrelevant, what's relevant is whether or not the decision benefits the public. No one is entitled to an IP privilege.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:37am

      Re:

      You do realize that you've drawn that conclusion by using only those court decisions that are the subject of posts, right? Meaning that you've drawn your conclusion based on only the set of of court decisions he chose to post about--which is a very small set. You've given a fantastic textbook example of selection bias. Well done!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:16am

    LMAO @ Pirate Mike pretending like he understands the law better than federal circuit judges. This blog is awesome fun.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:25am

      Re:

      So, how is Tor working out for you so far?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        rubberpants, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:29am

        Re: Re:

        Ding! Ding! Ding!

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        rubberpants, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:38am

        Re: Re:

        This guy cracks me up, responding to his own posts "Oh I agree, blah blah" in the exact same tone and diction as the original and thinks no one would notice? What an amateur.

        The "Change Identity" button on Vidalia is going to get worn out if you don't stop pushing it so much dude.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:42am

          Re: Re: Re:

          LMAO! I'm not using Tor. I'm sitting at the library logged in without a proxy. Nice try though. I do agree with the other poster above, hence my having said so.

          Way to keep the debate tight, boys!

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:45am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            And by the way, I have no idea why my IP address is changing. It's the library's wireless I'm using, so it must be the way their system works. I haven't moved from this seat in two hours, so if my IP address is changing, it's not because I'm changing it on purpose.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:17pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              So it changed at random from something new back to what it was 30 mins earlier in the 3 mins between these two posts?

              link to this | view in chronology ]

              • icon
                fiestachickens (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 2:00pm

                Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

                So we should hold the Library liable for your posts then yah? You know, direct liability for its users actions?

                link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Sneeje (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:39am

      Re:

      You're right. It should be assumed as fact that federal judges are not human and therefore not capable of making mistakes.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:44am

        Re: Re:

        Judges make mistakes all the time, and judges do not all agree on what the law actually is. The law is always in flux.

        Still, the point being made is that Mike's "analysis" about whether a court got it "right" is based solely on whether he likes the result, not what the law actually is.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Torg (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:49am

          Re: Re: Re:

          Or perhaps whether or not he likes the result is based on whether or not a court got it right.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Sneeje (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 3:52pm

          Re: Re: Re:

          And that is a particularly weak analysis since you have no evidence of such. It would be equally valid to claim that Mike is only stupid when you disagree with him and brilliant when you do.

          But you already knew that. You prefer to peacock and try to make yourself feel superior to everyone else, without actually demonstrating any grasp of the material.

          BTW, its not working.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Lord Binky, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:45am

        Re: Re:

        Come on, give the judges some credit. They've already accounted for this. Judges are wrong 9/10 times, so we throw out every 10th ruling.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:46am

          Re: Re: Re:

          Actually, I think the vast majority of appeals uphold the decision below. A reversal on appeal is the exception, not the rule.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Lord Binky, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:55am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            Actually, that's not how statistics work....

            link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 1:21pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              Exactly. If judges mess up on 1 out of a hundred cases and there are 1000 cases to look through, it's plausible to find a case where a judge messed up.

              link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 11:21am

    "First, using trademarked keywords to trigger ads isn't infringement."

    Agreed, as long as you're not claiming to represent the trademark holder when I'm really not the trademark holder. For instance, if I sell Nike shoes on Ebay (I hope Nike doesn't now sue me for using their word), I'm obviously not claiming to represent Nike even though I'm using the keyword Nike to sell my shoes. Because my shoes are Nike shoes.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:22pm

      Re:

      You're right, because you sell Nike shoes on Ebay and use the keyword Nike to sell your shoes because your shoes are Nike shoes Nike should sue Ebay.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:25pm

    is this the same appeals court that has roughly 75% of their verdicts overturned?
    I mean, if you just bet against them being right, you'll win 3 out of 4 times.
    the court is a joke. that kind of track record in the real world (outside of govt) would get you fired in a week.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 6:11pm

      Re:

      Right, but the appeals judges (who are lawyers) are just working to get the lawyers more work and bigger paychecks. Duh!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:44pm

    i guess life for Rosetta Stone is not quite so 'rosie' any more. got to get money from somewhere.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 12:44pm

    This wouldn't have anything to do with the congressman that founded Rosetta Stone would it?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Thomas (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 1:40pm

    Money talks

    Judges will do pretty much whatever you want if you pay them enough or offer them a cut in the proceeds of the lawsuit.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anthony Butler, 12 Apr 2012 @ 12:43am

    US Law courts side with lawyers?

    As this article points out, the moves by the appeals court is to foster the need for lengthy, expensive, wasteful and pointless trials. The only people who will benefit from this are lawyers. So the appeals court has sided with the right of lawyers to make a living arguing over something that has no point in being discussed.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2012 @ 10:38am

      Re: US Law courts side with lawyers?

      If I understand your comment, when relevant factual questions remain unresolved it is wasteful of time and resources for the parties to present evidence supporting their positions concerning these facts.

      This would absolutely comprise a violation of the Due Process Clause.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Paul Ramos, 7 Sep 2013 @ 6:39am

    Re:

    LMAO! I'm not using Tor. I'm sitting at the library logged in without a proxy. Nice try though. I do agree with the other poster above, hence my having said so.

    Way to keep the debate tight, boys!
    BTW do you recommend this program: https://sites.google.com/site/flipbuzzanswers/rosettastonetorrent

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.