Rosetta Stone, Google settle trademark lawsuit
updated 04:13 pm EDT, Wed October 31, 2012
Rosetta Stone drops trademark infringement suit
Language-learning software maker Rosetta Stone has dropped its trademark infringement suit against Google, it was revealed today, with both companies agreeing to settle all claims and dismiss the suit. The development brings to an end a case originally filed in 2009, dismissed in 2010, and revived in federal court in April of this year. Rosetta Stone had argued that Google committed trademark infringement by selling Rosetta Stone's marks to third-party advertisers for use as search keywords.
Reuters reported earlier today that Rosetta Stone filed in a US district court in Alexandria, Virginia, to dismiss the suit. The language-learning company had argued that people using Google to search for Rosetta Stone were instead being directed to competitors and software counterfeiters.
In dismissing the case in 2010, a Virginia district court found that the sale of keywords was not likely to confuse consumers. That decision was overturned, though, when the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, allowed Rosetta Stone to pursue its case on the grounds that Google's services served to dilute the Rosetta Stone brand.
In the settlement, the two companies have apparently agreed to collaborate to combat online ads for counterfeit goods and prevent trademark abuse on the Internet. A joint statement issued by the two companies today made no mention of any financial component to the settlement.
