agentalpha - 5:32 pm on Sep 2, 2009 (gmt 0)

The verdict "establishes a standard" for trademark infringement complaints on the Internet, said Andy Coombs, Louis Vuitton's counsel, in a statement. "It represents a positive contribution to existing case law and marks the first time statutory damages have been awarded against those found contributorily liable for trademark infringement," Coombs said.

If the courts uphold the principal of being "contributorily liable for trademark infringement" I think we'll see a new round of cases against Google for their AdWords trademark policy. They've won/settled those cases so far but now potential plaintiffs can point to this case.

It'll be interesting to see where this leads us. If web hosts are now held responsible for sites they host then it's just a matter of time before someone wants Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. to be responsible for their members content.

It's a slippery slope.....