Lawsuit Filed Over Keyword Search Ad

Estee Lauder, the cosmetic and fragrance giant, reportedly is suing Excite Inc. and the Fragrance Counter, alleging trademark infringement over a key- word purchase. Estee Lauder contends that Excite sold the advertising rights to its trademarked key words --"Estee Lauder" and "Origins"--to a competitor, without consent. The lawsuit "is the beginning of what could predictably be a landslide of lawsuits generated by a largely unregulated online advertising industry," said Namestake.com_s Bannerstake in a press release about the case. Indeed, the practice of buying a competitor_s keywords is not uncommon in the online ad game. When a user types in "Estee Lauder" or "Origins" on Excite, the search engine serves up a banner advertisement for The Fragrance Counter Inc., the company that purchased these key words. As a result, The Fragrance Counter, which has no connection to Estee Lauder, allegedly capitalizes on Estee Lauder_s brand name to draw consumers to its Web site.