Apple is being sued for buying ad space on the Google results page delivered to users searching for the term “iWatch,” Bloomberg reports. Probendi, an Irish software developer, owns the iWatch trademark in Europe and has filed suit over Apple’s efforts to steer people typing that term into Google toward its Apple Watch website.
Giacomo Bonelli, a lawyer for Probendi, said, “Apple never replied to our requests and objections, while Google said they are not responsible for links.” Right now, Probendi owns the name “iWatch,” which is estimated to be worth $97 million, but doesn’t have a product on which to attach it. Co-founder Daniele Di Salvo said the company’s plan to build a smartwatch that would be cheaper than the Apple Watch, run Android software and bear the iWatch name is “in standby.”
Neither Apple nor Google commented on the case.
Google’s policy on the use of trademarks in its ad service says terms are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with the company reserving the right to “enforce certain restrictions.” A hearing for the dispute is set for November 11.
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