Click Fraud Liability and the Meaning of

• Click Fraud Liability and the Meaning of "User" : Internet Business Law

  tags: contract

  • A California district court considered the issue of whether the language of the contract entered into by the advertiser and a Web publisher was such so as to exempt the advertiser from paying fees for fraudulent clicks on its advertisements. The court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, finding that meaning of the term “user” was a triable issue. In the case of Lambotte v. IAC/InterActiveCorp, (C.D. Cal. Nov. 4, 2008), plaintiffs were advertisers who entered into a contract for online advertising services with defendant Web publishers. Plaintiffs had an option to obtain such services for a flat monthly fee or to pay on a pay-per-click basis. They opted for the latter option, which required them to pay to the defendants only when a “user,” as defined in their agreement, would click on an advertisement (ad). Following, there is a summary of the facts and holding of this case.