Google v. GEICO

Type "GEICO" into Google, and you get more than just links to that company's web page -- you get ads for rival insurance companies. This happens because those companies pay Google for their ads to come up in such a search. GEICO sued Google on grounds of trademark violation -- they claimed that these other companies were using their name to generate business.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia disagreed -- there is no trademark violation. [Link] However, Brinkema said she would allow the case to proceed on the narrower question of whether Google should be barred from displaying advertisements for other insurers that contain the word "GEICO."

"GEICO will continue to aggressively enforce its trademark rights against purchasers of its trademark on search engines and against search engines that continue to sell its trademarks," GEICO General Counsel Charles Davies said in a statement later in the day. Maryland-based GEICO is a subsidiary of billionaire investor Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

So what GEICO basically wants is protection from competition. But should they get special protection? Isn't a free-market economy all about having the market decide which companies succeed and which fail? If GEICO's prices are lower than their competitors, and the services provided are comparable, GEICO will earn more business. If the competitors are better or cheaper or both, they get the business. It should be as simple as that. For GEICO to try and shield potential customers from rival offers is ridiculous and unneccessary; if they want the money, they need to work for it.