Google And Geico Both Claim Wins… When Neither Won
from the let's-try-this-again dept
You have to admit, the Google vs. Geico case concerning trademarks and paid search advertising gets more amusing every step it takes. Last December, a judge made a ruling that basically supported Google’s side of the case and Geico quickly claimed victory, confusing many. This month, the judge made a ruling on a minor point in favor of Geico and now Google is claiming victory. Basically, no matter what the judge says, both sides are claiming it backs up their case. The reality, though, is that this latest ruling is a victory for neither side. As we mentioned when it came out, it was a ruling on a somewhat minor point, ignoring the main issue, and then telling the two sides to go away and not come back until they had kissed and made up. Of course, that doesn’t make for very good headlines, so everyone has to claim victory and the press has to decide who they believe (which often seems to just be whichever press release crossed their desk first). However, since the main issue (is Google liable for ads created by others?) wasn’t touched, it just means that this issue will be back in court again at some point.
