American Airlines has sued Google over search terms that include words that American Airlines has trademarked. For example, if you search Google for “Aadvantage,” American Airline’s frequent flier program, Google will display a link to the program, but also show ads from competitors.

American Airlines told the Associated Press that the airline had tried to reach a settlement with Google, but wasn’t able to. Google responded:

Google spokesman Jon Murchinson said the company is “confident that our trademark policy strikes a proper balance between trademark owners’ interests and consumer choice, and that our position has been validated by decisions in previous trademark cases.”

We think American Airlines needs to chill out. So what if Google serves ads that compete with your product? If it’s so bad that it can’t stand up to Google ads, maybe you should improve it.

Carrier sues Google over keyword ads [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo:Drewski2112)

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