Internet advertising companies can launch popup ads on others' Websites, a federal judge ruled last week.
Two such companies, Gator and WhenU.com, were targeted by online publishers seeking legal sanctions against them, especially for their ads' ability to track users' Web visits and overlay competitors' ads on merchant sites, according to CBS Marketwatch.
But federal judge Gerald Bruce Lee in Virginia ruled that the monitoring of site activity is incorporated in freeware surfers have downloaded and, therefore, they "invite" those ads by accepting the programs.
"Ultimately it is the computer user who controls how windows are displayed on the computer desktop," Lee ruled, in an action brought by U-Haul International, accusing WhenU of violating trademarks and copyrights with their popup campaign.
U-Haul hasn't yet decided whether to appeal, Marketwatch said.
