Here we go again, but the stakes are higher. Geico, the insurance company, is the most prominent brand to sue Google or Overture for infringing trademark. The argument is that both companies sold the trademarked word geico to competing advertisers in their respective PPC ad programs. At the time of this entry, the Google SERP for geico shows three ads—none of which is owned by Geico. (See the screen shot at right.) One leads to an insurance directory, another is an affiliate ad for an insurance comparison engine, and the third redirects from the display URL to an insurance quote engine.

Geico's lawsuit was registered on May 4, about a week after Google changed its advertising policy and started allowing advertisers to bid on competing trademarks. Google's position is that companies do not own keywords, even when they correspond to trademarks. It is a deeply gray area, and the unfoldment of law in this area will be an interesting ride.