GEICO AND GOOGLE SETTLE:

Google Inc. has settled the last part of a lawsuit that alleging that its online search engine advertising system illegally exploited insurer Geico Inc.’s brand. Geico stated simply that the case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia “has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.” Geico said the settlement terms were confidential.

The deal avoided a trial with the Washington, D.C.-headquartered insurer, which is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google had scored a victory in the trademark infringement case in the Virginia federal court late last year when U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected Geico’s request to block Google from letting rival insurance companies pay for the right to have their ads displayed after Geico’s name is included in a search request.

But last month in her written opinion Brinkema left the door open for Geico to collect damages from Google for featuring ads from rivals that used Geico’s name in the heading above the Web links, as well as the subtext. Brinkema gave Google and Geico 30 days to settle that part of the dispute or face a trial.

Had Geico prevailed, it could have sapped Google profits. The ads powered Google to a $712 million profit on revenue of $2.6 billion during the first half of this year.

Google’s advertising still faces trademark lawsuits filed by another insurer, AXA Group, and Plymouth, Mich.-based American Blind and Wallpaper.

Topics Google