The main source for financing of search engines and portals seems to be saved (for now) thanks to a Federal court in LA.
What does this mean? When you search for the word "Playboy" there can be still be banners and advertisements for Playboy's competitors - such as hard core pornography pages - inserted beneath the search results. Many portals naturally welcome the courts decisions, as this practice is fundamental to search engines' financial well-being.
The court explained its decision that the "Playboy" or "Playmate" are generic terms. But the most interesting question stayed unanswered by the court: is keyword-advertising in general legal?
But there could be a definite answer as the company Playboy Enterprises wants to take the legal arguments to the next higher court.
Read more at News.com
Important for Germany: The naming of a competitor in the meta tags can be illegal in terms of patent rights and other laws, according to a court decision of the Landgerichts Mannheim, Germany.