Google's keyword advertising system is called AdWords. If a company pays for a keyword it means that its text advert will be displayed alongside search results when that word is searched for in Google.
Mordue's decision means that the case will not be heard, but other courts have allowed similar cases to go further. Insurance company Geico took a case against Google on similar grounds. That case was heard in the Eastern District Court of Virginia and was mostly a victory for Google.
The judge ruled that Google's sale of trade marked words to third parties was not an infringement but that it would be an infringement to include that trade mark in the text ad itself, since that caused a 'likelihood of confusion'.
That case was settled out of court and neither party has ever revealed the terms of the settlement. Another case, involving American Blind and Wallpaper Factory, is pending.
Judge Norman Mordue of the northern district court of New York ruled in the Rescuecom case that Google's "internal use" did not violate any trade mark rights because it was not claimed that it put the trade marked terms on "any goods, containers, displays or advertisements, or that its internal use is visible to the public".
David Milman, CEO of Rescuecom, called the decision a "dangerous precedent".
French courts have taken a firmer view and have ordered Google not to allow a search using one company's trade marks to turn up information about another company's products or services.
