Google Rebounds In AdWords Lawsuits
National News
According to The Record, a favorable ruling for Rescuecom Corp. in April in a long-running case against Google Inc. has fueled more suits, including would-be class actions, against the search giant for selling trademarked keywords that trigger ads alongside its search results.
But in the last two weeks, two AdWords lawsuits -- from Daniel Jurinand Ascentive LLC -- have folded. It highlights the difficulties of the suits, experts say: It's a hard case to make and it's expensive to litigate against Google.
"We're starting to see some of these lawsuits crack," said Eric Goldman, a Santa Clara University School of Law professor who follows the AdWords litigation closely on his Technology & Marketing blog. "My current hypothesis is that they never made sense in the first place -- the plaintiffs got all excited to go take down Google, but suing Google is a loser's bet because Google's going to fight to the death."
In these suits, advertisers accuse Google of selling trademarked keywords to anyone, including competitors. They claim that constitutes infringement because Google users could be confused by links to competitors' ads that appear alongside Google search results for the company's trademarked name.
Related listings
-
State Police Arrest Pittsburgh Man For DWI
National News 08/03/2009Syracuse News reports that last month, state police pulled over a Pennsylvania man in the town of Salina after he was allegedly traveling at 97 mph in a 65 mph zone. Christopher J. Chatham was charged with driving while intoxicated. His blood alcohol...
-
Chicago Small Business Rallies For Health Care Reform
National News 08/03/2009Chicago area small business owners will rally to support health care reform downtown next week. The rally will bring together labor unions, community groups, faith groups,and the small business community to call for real health care reform, says orga...
-
CA Councilman Arrested On Suspicion Of Drunken Driving
National News 08/03/2009The Los Angeles Times reports that a Westminster, California city councilman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving early Sunday after he crashed into a utility pole, cutting off electricity to about 300 homes, police said. Andy Tuan Ngoc Quach w...

USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.
The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”
Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.