Here's the understatement of the week: "This wasn't the best-argued case of the day." New York Law School professor James Grimmelmann was referring to the resurrection of computer repair company Rescuecomm's lawsuit against Google, which was dismissed in 2006, but is now up for review by a federal appeals court.

One can imagine the judges sliding spectacles to the ends of their noses, stretching out papers to arm's length and squinting, before trying to decide if they buy the argument that there is "no next to" on the Internet, and whether a search engine results page is more akin to a store shelf, directory assistance, a pharmacy, or a vending machine.

This is one of a number of important cases across the country as the legal system tries to hammer out what is and isn't acceptable in the digital 21st Century. Some offline analogies might not fly in the online world, however. Those that don't fly in this case are offered first by Rescucomm's attorney, and then by judges who seem to have relative difficulty grasping the concepts behind search marketing.

Give them a break; it's been a long time since they took their LSATs.

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