Judge dismisses Wells Fargo's motion to block pop-up ads

Computerworld - A federal judge has denied a request from Wells Fargo & Co. for a motion against software maker WhenU that would stop it from delivering competitive ads to consumers on the bank's Web site. The ads appear in WhenU-branded pop-up windows on customers' computer desktops.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo had sought to stop WhenU's software-based Desktop Advertising Network from presenting alternative offers to consumers considering loans and other Wells Fargo services. The ad network reaches 30 million users.
But Judge Nancy G. Edmunds of the Eastern District of Michigan found that WhenU is engaged in "legitimate comparative advertising" and doesn't use any Wells Fargo trademarks in commerce. Edmunds also ruled that an injunction against WhenU "would threaten the integrity of the competitive process" and that "WhenU's advertisements increase the choices available to consumers and thereby promote competition."
According to a statement from New York-based WhenU, the court found that targeting consumer interests in this manner was a legitimate use of the Internet and that Wells Fargo's allegations that trademark or copyright law were being violated were without merit.
The court also found that, contrary to Wells Fargo's charges, "WhenU protects the privacy and security of its users" by the specific way it tracks advertisements, which avoids cookies and eliminates profiling of individual users.
"Our second court victory in the last couple of months is great news for competition on the Internet for the advertising world and bodes a future in which consumers considering the purchase of a product somewhere can have technology that automatically alerts them to other places where they can buy the same merchandise," said WhenU Net CEO Avi Naider. "And it's going to enhance competition on the Internet dramatically. I think we're at the tip of the iceberg with this type of contextual messaging technology."
In September, another federal judge, in Virginia, ruled in favor of WhenU in a similar case brought by U-Haul International Inc.
In a statement, Wells Fargo called the decision "a setback for consumers' struggle to protect their desktops from deceptive, confusing and intrusive forms of advertising."
It also said the pop-up ads can confuse people who might think they originate on the Web site they're viewing. "It's important for customers to know who they are dealing with online, and we took action to eliminate this source of confusion for our customers," Wells Fargo said.