Wis. woman loses privacy lawsuit against Google

A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit that a Wisconsin woman brought against Google Inc.

Beverly Stayart of Elkhorn alleged that the search-engine giant was using her name without permission to generate revenue through online advertising.

She said if someone initiated a Google search for "Bev Stayart," the search engine offered "Bev Stayart levitra" as a search term. She said accepting that suggestion led to ads for Levitra and other treatments for erectile dysfunction.

Stayart says she's renowned as a leader in the animal-rights movement, and that her name has significant commercial value. She accused Google of misappropriating her name to sell ads.

A Janesville Gazette report says the appeals court dismissed those arguments this week, ruling that Google had done nothing wrong.