Closing the Blinds on AdWords Suit

Google's AdWords system allows companies to have their ads run adjacent to search results that relate to keywords, including keywords that are their competitor's trademarks. For instance, if Pepsi wanted to, it could have ads for its soft drinks appear every time a user searched for "Coke". (Just a hypothetical example.)

Is this trademark infringement? A company called American Blind thought so, and sued Google. That suit ended in a settlement yesterday, however, reports Law.com, with no admission of liability. The issue will no doubt be litigated again, perhaps to conclusion.