EU adviser backs Google trademark ads
An adviser to Europe’s highest legal court has backed Google’s policy of allowing advertisers to bid on trademarked terms.
Google has faced criticism for its decision to open up bidding on trademarked names on its pay-per-click advertising service and is involved in legal dispute with several firms, including the owners of fashion brand Louis Vuitton.
The complaint levelled by LVMH is that other advertisers are able to exploit trademarked Louis Vuitton trademarked terms when they are offering imitation or unrelated competitor products.
However, Advocate General Poiares Maduro, who is adviser to the European Court of Justice believes that “Google has not infringed trade mark rights by allowing advertisers to buy keywords corresponding to registered trade marks.”
Under the threat of possible legal action, many companies have chosen not to bid on trademarked brands, even though Google has chosen to allow the practice.
“Just because Google’s AdWords policy allows this kind of advertising, it doesn’t make it legal,” comments Interflora’s official blog.
Interflora is currently sueing Marks and Spencer for breach of trademark law after the retailer started to bid on the advertising keyword “interflora” rather than generic flower-related terms. The company settled its case with Flowers Direct Online in March 2009 on the proviso that they stop bidding on the term.
Although Google’s open policy on trademarks looks set to be extremely lucrative for the online search advertisers, the fate of customers taking advantage of the service remains unclear.
In a stance which will give Louis Vuitton’s competitors hope, Maduro explains there is a distinction between using the trademarked keywords to advertise products and using them on a search engine to navigate to them.
“When selecting keywords, there is thus no product or service sold to the general public. Such a use cannot therefore be considered as being a use made in relation to goods or services covered by the trade marks,” said Maduro.
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