Rescuecom drops trademark suit against Google

PC support company Rescuecom has dropped a trademark lawsuit against Google, giving it time to defend itself against a similar suit filed by Best Buy.

Rescuecom declared "victory" in a press release Friday, although it wasn't clear if anything had changed since Rescuecom was able to win an appeal of a 2006 decision dismissing its lawsuit over Google's keyword-based ad system. Rescuecom objected to the fact that competitors could buy ads that would appear when Google users searched for "Rescuecom," and was able to convince a federal court last year to rehear the case after it was initially dismissed.

But it will go no further. Rescuecom said it dropped the lawsuit after getting what it wanted out of the process, but the fact that it is currently involved in a dispute against Best Buy--where it is essentially arguing the opposite side of its dispute against Google--might have played into its decision.

Best Buy sued Rescuecom last year for using the term "geek squad" in keyword advertising, which Rescuecom has defended as an appropriate use of another company's trademarks in "comparative advertising." Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University who follows online trademark disputes closely, was quoted earlier this year by Online Media Daily as calling Rescuecom's position with Best Buy as "intrinsically inconsistent" with its position regarding Google, where it argued that Google did not have the right to sell its trademark to competitors.

Google released a statement on the dismissal. "As we've consistently maintained, Google's trademark policy strikes the proper balance between trademark owners' interests and consumer choice, and now even Rescuecom concedes that it's legally entitled to use a competitor's trademark as a keyword trigger. We're pleased to see Rescuecom finally affirm our position by dismissing their claims."

[Mergatroid Mania]

I don't shop at Best Buy because of their use of the term Geek, which is a derogatory term for someone who is technically inclined. So, I hope they both lose....

[i-arman]

Honestly, it's not derogatory any more. I'm proud to call myself a geek; while I agree that it used to be a "bad name," that's going away pretty fast. Nowadays, it's almost cool to be a "geek" or "nerd".

Meanwhile, I don't shop at Best Buy because they are way overpriced and have sometimes shady business practices. Never heard of Rescuecom...

[Knightro2]

I agree with i-arman..."Geek" isn't what it use to be. And Rescuecom is like Geek Squad...they offer services to come to your home for computer help and such. I looked into buying a franchise a few years ago.

[Renegade Knight]

@i-arman

Geek is merely the best of the geek, dork, & nerd trio. It's deragatory. If you describe something or someone as dorky you won't be using "sexy, cool, or sveldt" in the same sentence.

[jmonty--2008]

I feel that Megatroid was being sarcastic... but regardless, any "derogatory" word only has as much power as you give it. Personally I feel that all such words only speak to the ignorance of the person whom utters it.

[MadLyb]

Sorry, I don't see it as derogatory since it implies an enthusiast. You can be an Art Geek or a Car Geek or just a Technology Geek.

People are so thin skinned these days.

[jmonty--2008]

Actually this is a reasonable thing for Rescuecom to do. Since Rescuecom dropped their case against Google it seems obvious that they expected to lose. So it makes sense that they should now be able to switch to the "winning" side of the argument and go after Best Buy.

[solitare_pax]

Either way they won some PR.

[alegr]

Tell me about wanting to have a cake and eat it, too...

[t8]

Humans are selfish by nature.