Court revives Rosetta Stone lawsuit against Google
updated 04:20 pm EDT, Mon April 9, 2012
Appeals court brings back infringement case
A lawsuit that was originally filed in 2009 and subsequently dismissed in 2010 has now been brought back. A federal appeals court on Monday brought back most of the case, which was filed by Rosetta Stone against Google. The plaintiff argued that Google committed trademark infringement by selling Rosetta Stone's marks to third-party advertisers for use as search keywords.
A Virginia district court in 2010 ruled that the sale of the keywords wouldn't confuse consumers. Most of these rulings were now overturned by the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. It directed the lower court to reconsider when Google first appeared to dilute the Rosetta Stone trademark, and if it was 'famous' during that time.
Rosetta Stone makes software that helps its customers learn foreign languages.
