A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday ruled that Playboy Enterprises could proceed with a trademark infringement suit against Time Warner's Netscape Communications
unit. The legal challenge focuses on Netscape's use of key search words such as "playboy" and "playmate" that direct online users to advertising and content from adult-themed Web publishers that
compete directly with Playboy. The case, which could impact the business models of search engines overall by establishing the legal limits of so-called "keying," was originally filed in Los Angeles in
1999.