‘Google and auto insurer GEICO have resolved a high-profile trademark infringement case filed by GEICO against Google over its online advertising practices, the auto insurer said Wednesday.

GEICO, the fourth largest US [automobile] insurer and a unit of investor Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, said its suit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ‘has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.’

The lawsuit, originally filed in May 2004, had sought to hold Google responsible for trademark infringement for displaying advertising paid for by rival insurers when computer users searched for the word “GEICO” on the Google system.

The complaint had sought to derail a key way in which Google sells online advertising — the source of virtually all the company’s revenues. Rival Yahoo relies on a similar technique for roughly half its advertising revenue.

Terms of the settlement are confidential, Geico said. No further comment on the settlement will be provided, it said. A Google spokesman was not immediately available to comment.’

You can count on Google facing more of these lawsuits in the future. I bet they’ll pay a pretty penny to avoid a substantive decision being made against them.