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Lerner & Rowe 'conquesting' trademark claims properly rejected, US appeals court concludes

By Melissa Ritti ( October 23, 2024, 14:53 GMT | Insight) -- An infringement action by Lerner & Rowe PC against a competing personal injury law firm that purchased Lerner’s trademark as a Google Ads keyword won't be revived, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled yesterday. The unanimous panel said more than 200 instances of actual confusion qualify as “demonstrably de minimis” when compared to the 109,322 times Brown, Engstrand & Shely’s advertisements were displayed to internet users searching for Lerner. In a concurrence, one judge called on the court to revisit its 2011 precedent that keyword advertising is a use in commerce, confessing “I am not convinced that we got it right.”Brown, Engstrand & Shely LLC have again prevailed on trademark infringement claims by Lerner & Rowe PC in connection with its purchase of the plaintiff’s name as a Google Ads keyword, this time before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit....

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