Internet Law – The Initial Interest Confusion Theory: The Beginning of Liability for Search Engine Companies

Internet Law – The Initial Interest Confusion Theory: The Beginning of Liability for Search Engine Companies
One of the leading U.S. cases on the issue of liability for the use of trademarked terms is Brookfield Communications, Inc. v. West Coast Entertainment (Brookfield). The case concluded with a remarkable decision that marked the beginning of a new liability era for those using trademarked words in their advertisements. Brookfield held that the defendant company was liable to the plaintiff company, under the Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Laws of the U.S. Lanham Act for the defendant’s use of plaintiff’s trademarked term in defendant’s Meta tags in Defendant’s websites, even if no actual damage existed. This case introduced the Initial Interest Confusion liability theory that is still applicable in the U.S. Courts.
Of the legal issues in the case, the Court considered whether there was an infringement of trademark claim; second, whether there was an unfair competition claim. These two issues were solved after intellectual property considerations in part that that related to the use of trademarked terms in domain names.
Third, and most important for us in this discussion, the Court considered whether West Coast Entertainment Company (defendant) was liable for the use of the trademarked term “movieBuff” in the Meta tags in its website “westcoastvideo.com” or any other website different than “movieBuff.com.” The Court decision was in the affirmative. The Court held that due to the Initial Interest Confusion theory, West Coast Entertainment Company was liable to Brookfield for the use of its trademarked term in the Meta tags of defendant’s websites other than “movieBueff.com.”
http://ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=articles&id=E53B27F8-82F9-4A02-B57B-1B47B7ADBC2A