AIT says the complaint centers on Google's alleged refusal to take steps against click fraud even though the company is "well aware of the practice". The North Carolina-based AIT says it has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fraudulent clicks and alleges that Google has the ability to detect and remedy this fraud.

Google generates the majority of its revenue from pay-per-click advertising. Advertisers pay Google only when Internet users click through the text-based ads. When there is fraud, the advertiser still pays Google for the clickthrough that is of little value to the advertiser.

"Google is able to block spamming efforts from its own Google Gmail service and should do the same to protect its pay-per-click advertising clients. However, Google chooses to do nothing because substantive action would both invalidate the current paid search model and because a lot of people are making a lot of money from this," Clarence Briggs, chief executive officer of AIT, said in a release. "This is a business model that pays lip service to concern about fraud but, in fact, stands to lose money if the fraud is vigorously pursued."

Briggs says the company has documented evidence that verifies its allegations.

The law firms of Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP, Chitwood Harley Harnes LLP and the law offices of Shawn Khorrami are representing AIT.

A spokesperson for Google told theWHIR that the company is currently evaluating how it plans to proceed with the case.