• Search Engine Land
  • Sections
    • SEO
    • SEM
    • Local
    • Retail
    • Google
    • Bing
    • Social
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • Live
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Search Engine Land

Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • More
  • Newsletters
  • Home
SEO

Trademark Court’s Impossible Order: Uber Told To Change Google Search Results

Judge tries to strike a balance but fails to understand the inherent problem at the heart of order -- controlling search outcomes.

Greg Sterling on February 18, 2016 at 5:37 pm
  • More
uber-logo-1920

In yet another case that illustrates the challenges the legal system faces with the internet, a Florida judge has ordered Uber, the international ride sharing service, to ensure that when someone in Gainesville, Florida, searches on “Uber Gainesville” (or something similar), a local company called Uber Promotions isn’t preempted by the larger entity in search results.

Uber Promotions, the plaintiff, owns a regional trademark that trumps the more familiar Uber in the local Florida market. Uber Promotions offers ad agency, event planning and transportation services, among other things. The company was able to show consumer confusion, especially surrounding the larger company’s UberEVENTs, and was granted an preliminary injunction.

The court’s order (embedded below) is elaborate and contains a number of directives, but here’s an excerpt that illustrates the problem:

Defendant [Uber] must ensure that a search conducted with the Google, Yahoo, or Bing search engines using the keywords “Uber promotions Gainesville phone” or “Uber promotions Gainesville phone number” does not return a result with Defendant’s 352-area-code number.

The court is seeking to prevent consumers looking for the local company from being directed to Uber. But given that Uber doesn’t control organic search, there’s effectively no way for it to “ensure” the desired outcome. The court’s order is thus all but impossible to comply with, except perhaps in some way through AdWords — though top ad placement cannot be guaranteed either, thanks to quality score.

According to legal blogger Eric Goldman the judge in the case was not naive, as all this might suggest, but more search/internet-savvy than most. Indeed, the opinion and order make clear that the judge is seeking a balance that protects the local trademark holder, Uber Promotions, while not preventing Uber from operating in the market.

It’s not clear how that will be achieved, as a practical matter. The ultimate solution probably involves some sort of licensing agreement or lump payment that doesn’t impliciate third parties such as Google or Bing.

Uber Promotions vs Uber Technologies from gesterling

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

Channel: SEOGoogle: LegalGoogle: SEO

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Lorem ipsum doler this is promo text about SMX events.

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

June 21-22, 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

December 14, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

Available On-Demand: SMX Report

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges. Our next conference will be held:

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • The 7 Phases of a Website Redesign
  • Rearchitecting Revenue: Accelerating Demand Through Data
  • Save Your Marketing by Fixing Bad Data, First
  • Precision Demand Generation: Create Meaningful Connections With Your Buyer
  • The Media-First Approach Why visual media must be a primary consideration for e-commerce businesses
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • The AI Revolution Is Coming to Every Stage of Your Buyer’s Journey
  • The Fundamentals of Link Building for E-Commerce & Affiliate Sites in 2021
  • Your Customer is Calling: Make the Most of Your Marketing Spend with Call Tracking
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

h
Receive daily search news and analysis.

Channels

  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social

Our Events

  • SMX
  • MarTech

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok