The Dozier Internet Law Federal Court Report is the monthly report of key Internet lawsuits filed each month. Plenty of AdWords trademark infringement lawsuits have been filed each month. Now one comes with a slight twist.
Cannon and Dunphy, a personal injury law firm, starting keying its adds off the personal names of the very unique name partners of a big competing law firm. The firm targeted was Habush, Habush and Rottier. Cannon is alleged to have keyed ads on Google off of each personal name.
In Wisconsin there is apparently a law prohibiting the commercial exploitation of someone's personal name. Seems pretty open and shut. But it is likely also trademark infringement since the name partners might have common law trademark rights, both state and federal, in their names.
This will be an interesting case to follow. I don't recall anything like this passing through Dozier Internet Law. And it is more justification for states to pass statutory commercial exploitation privacy laws as I have called for in "Google Bomb". Bet it settles in a hurry.
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