Google Profiting From Typo-Squatting?

Harvard University professor Ben Edelman and other lawyers have filed a class action lawsuit representing domain owners claiming the Google Adsense for Domains (AFD) program is assisting in violating trademarks.

According to Edelman, via a Wired.com article, Google is profiting from typo-squatting domain names that run ads using Google’s Adsense ads - ads which, ironically, are often bought by the owners of the legitimate sites web surfers were trying to visit.

The article goes on to name bankofdamerica.com as a typo-squat of bankofamerica.com - depicting a Sedo parked page as proof that bankofdamerica.com uses Google ads.

“This is one of the unsavory ways we all end up paying Google,” Edelman says in an interview. “Users don’t have to write Google a check to receive Google’s services. But, one way or another, Google manages to get users’ money.”

Google reported net income of $1.25 billion for the quarter ending June 30 on revenue of $5.37 billion. Advertising generates about 99 percent of Google’s revenue, according to its financial statement.

So, what about parking providers like Sedo, Parked etc? Are they not directly involved in this practice? After all, they provide a medium for typo-squatters to utilize. If anyone should be blamed it should be the parking companies who provide the parking medium and perform payouts to typo-squatters. Should they not be checking whether a domain is a typo-squat? It would certainly be easier for them to do it then Google.

Frankly, I think people are just jumping on the “blame Google” bandwagon due to their vast riches.