Digital Envoy, Inc. v. Google, Inc.

ORDER DENYING GOOGLE’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING GOOGLE’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant Google, Inc. (“Google”) moves for summary judgment on all six claims for relief advanced by plaintiff Digital Envoy, Inc. (“Digital”). Google contends that those claims are fatally flawed because: (1) the only reasonable interpretation of the parties’ November 2000 License Agreement (“License”) permitted Google to use Digital’s technology in both its Ad-Words and AdSense programs; (2) Digital’s state law claims all relate to the theory of trade secret misappropriation and are thereby preempted by the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“UTSA”); and, (3) as a matter of law, Digital cannot sustain its Lanham Act claim. Digital opposes the motions and argues that its claims for relief are legally cognizable and that entry of judgment is inappropriate at this stage of the litigation. The motions were fully briefed and heard by the Court on May 4, 2005. Based on all papers filed to date, as well as on the oral argument of counsel, the Court denies the motion for summary judgment and grants the motion for partial summary judgment, for the reasons set…