American Airlines Sues Google for Linking to Rivals

Googlers who type in trademarked keywords like “Aadvantage” will get links to American Airlines – but also to the company’s rivals, and that’s prompted AA to file a linking lawsuit. The airline tried to settle but Google is confident that legal precedent is on their side. "When done right, search is a great tool," said an AA spokesman. "But we have a problem with this part of their business."

The issue is over Google ads, which pop up alongside links to businesses by using their trademarks as tags. In a similar case two years ago, a judge ruled in Google's favor but set limits on what could be printed in the ads themselves. The AP reports that companies sue Google on similar charges pretty regularly; Google often wins in the US but has lost cases in France. (More American Airlines stories.)