Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING NEWS: Supreme Court declines to review Internet search publicity rights case, (Oct 8, 2013)

By Cheryl Beise, J.D.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday declined to review a petition for certiorari filed by Beverly Stayart, asking whether Google, Inc.’s commercial use her name to trigger sponsored links, ads, and related searches to erectile medicines was protected by the First Amendment. The petition for review in Stayart v. Google, Inc., No. 12-1417, was filed on June 3, 2013.

Left standing is a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago, holding that Google did not violate Wisconsin’s privacy statute prohibiting the use of a person’s name for commercial purposes. Stayart claimed that she was the only “Bev Stayart” or “Beverly Stayart” on the Internet and that her name carried significant commercial value as a respected scholar of genealogy and leader in the animal rights movement.

The appeals court ruled that the statute’s public interest and incidental use exceptions precluded Stayart’s claims. The search term “bev stayart levitra” was a matter of public interest primarily because Stayart made it one by filing the lawsuit at issue and a substantially similar suit against Yahoo! Inc. As such, search terms that led the public to court documents relating to Stayart or that captured key terms related to them were likewise entitled to the exception.

The Seventh Circuit also found that Stayart failed to allege that the connection between her name and Google’s efforts to generate revenues was substantial. Wisconsin’s privacy law is violated only if there is a substantial, rather than incidental, connection between the defendant’s use of a personal name and the defendant’s commercial purpose.

Companies: Google, Inc.

News: Advertising Privacy