Using keyword advertising to promote a gripe site

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Paul Levy <PLEVY () citizen org>
Date: February 21, 2007 3:48:30 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Using keyword advertising to promote a gripe site

I wanted to alert you to a case that delves into a new area of First  
Amendment rights on the Internet and in which Public Citizen today  
filed an amicus brief. The case involves trademark infringement  
claims related to keyword advertising purchases and domain names.  
Although Public Citizen has litigated several cases involving  
trademark claims against domain names of Internet “gripe sites,” this  
is the first case in which Public Citizen has been involved dealing  
with the trademark ramifications of noncommercial, keyword ad  
purchases – a relatively new area of litigation – that are protected  
in most cases by the First Amendment.

The case involves national developer Lennar Corporation, based in  
Miami, which sued a Florida realtor for trademark infringement for  
his online criticisms of the company. Michael Charles Morgan was a  
broker for several customers who were unhappy about alleged defects  
in Lennar-built homes. After Morgan’s complaints to the company did  
not receive satisfactory responses, he created two noncommercial Web  
sites that included criticism and media reports about Lennar and more  
general consumer information.

Morgan registered the domain names www.defectivehomes.us and  
www.lennar-homes.info. Morgan also purchased keyword advertising to  
be displayed when a search engine user conducts searches for Lennar.  
An example included:

Lennar Homes - Warning
Defective Homes - Code
Violations Detailed
Home Inspections Required
www.DefectiveHomes.us

Although Morgan’s sites and ads were clearly noncommercial and  
intended to warn consumers about problems with Lennar Homes, the  
corporation sued for trademark infringement.

Public Citizen has a record of defending the First Amendment right of  
Internet users, particularly the rights of gripe site operators to  
use domain names that include the names of companies or products they  
are criticizing.

To read the amicus brief in this case, visit http://www.citizen.org/ 
documents/lennaramicus.pdf.

To get more information about Public Citizen’s work involving First  
Amendment rights on the Internet, visit http://www.citizen.org/ 
litigation/briefs/IntFreeSpch/.




Paul Alan Levy
Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 588-1000
http://www.citizen.org/litigation

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