Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc.

Rescuecom Corp. (Rescuecom) (plaintiff), a computer service company holding a federal trademark for "Rescuecom," alleged that Google, Inc. (Google) (defendant) infringed its mark through Google's advertising business, in which companies purchase search terms so their website link appears above search results for those terms. Google's Keyword Suggestion Tool suggested that Rescuecom's competitors purchase "Rescuecom" itself as a search term, so a competitor's link would appear prominently when a user searched for Rescuecom, potentially confusing users who searched for Rescuecom and instead saw a competitor's site. Google moved to dismiss, arguing this practice didn't constitute "use in commerce" of the mark as the Lanham Act requires, and the district court agreed and dismissed the case.