Google Wins Trademark Victory Over GEICO - 12/15/2004 18:23:31
This was going to be big news for online advertisers no matter who won. For most of us, this is good news.
In a nutshell: "U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected a claim by auto insurance giant Geico Corp., which argued that Google should not be allowed to sell ads to rival insurance companies that appear whenever Geico's name is typed into the Google search box."
If Geico won it would set a presedence for Trademark owners - advertisers could no longer bid on TM or confusingly similar TM terms. As it stands, you can bid on TM terms, but your not allowed to use the TM in your AD on Google.