Search engines Google, Overture and Kanoodle are accused of trade mark infringement and unfair competition. Novak claims that when “Pets Warehouse” is entered as a search term, competitor sites are listed in the results. He claims that the search engines are selling his trade marks to his rivals as advertising keywords.
Google is additionally accused of breach of contract, because, according to Novak, it failed to respond to notices regarding the alleged infringing acts. He is claiming damages of $6 million.
Novak is known for another lawsuit: he sued a group of aquarium hobbyists after they made negative comments on-line about his customer service. He sought $15 million damages, alleging that they also hacked his computers and threatened his life.
Novak, representing himself, then sued the owners of mailing lists and web sites where the case was discussed, the defence lawyer and also web sites that ran ads promoting a defence fund set up for the lawsuit.