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Law School Case Briefs
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1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. Lens.Com, Inc.
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2013) | 722 F.3d 1229; 2013 WL 3665627; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 14368
TL;DR: A contact lens retailer sued a competitor for trademark infringement over the use of its mark as a paid search keyword. The court found no direct infringement from keyword use alone but held the competitor could be contributorily liable for an affiliate's ad that used the mark in its text.
Legal Significance: This case clarifies the application of initial-interest confusion to keyword advertising, emphasizing that low click-through rates can defeat infringement claims. It also establishes a modern standard for contributory infringement, where failure to use available technology to stop known infringement can create liability.