American Airlines, the world"s largest airline, has sued Google Incorporated for selling search words involving its name. The claim is the latest in a string of cases filed worldwide by businesses that argue the search giant"s pay-per-click advertising system, its main source of revenue, is used unfairly by competitors to grab business. American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp, said it does not want to prevent the display of search terms, but wants Google to stop selling its trademarks and related terms.
Filed Thursday in the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Texas, the American Airlines lawsuit accuses Google of violating trademark laws with its practice of selling search terms such as "American Airlines" or "AA.com" to other companies for advertising. The airline accuses Google of selling the right to use American Airlines" trademarks and service marks or "words, phrases, or terms confusingly similar to those marks" to competitors who then direct searchers to their own Web pages.