Overture, formerly known as GoTo, is based in Pasadena, California. Its advertisers bid for placement on relevant search results and pay Overture only when a consumer clicks on their listing. The company has a US patent to protect its bid-for-placement system.
In its lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles district court, it alleges that Google is infringing its patent, described as “system and method for influencing a position on a search result list generated by a computer network search engine.”
Overture is seeking unspecified damages. Google denies any infringement.