Trademarks in Google AdWords: discussions rumble on

9 April 2008

Search industry commentators continue to discuss the ramifications of Google's decision to allow paid search bids on trademarked terms.

The change to policy, announced on Friday, means that people searching for a trademark may now be presented with sponsored links to organisations other than the trademark owner. The shift brings Google in the UK and Ireland into line with the US, where Google has permitted third-party trademark bids for four years.

Google's announcement comes after Yahoo successfully defended itself in a UK court case, in which it was alleged that the appearance of sponsored third-party links when users searched for the trademark "Mr Spicy" constituted trademark infringement.

Responding to the judgement, defence lawyer Peter Brownlow said: "For a number of years we have been waiting for a UK decision on whether or not the use of keywords for sponsored search results amounted to trademark infringement. The judgment of Mr Justice Morgan has now clarified the position as regards search engines."

Commenting on the implications of Google's policy change for brands, Paul Doleman, iCrossing UK's head of paid search, said: "The direct brands… are the ones that have got the most to fear from this change."

Speaking in an iCrossing-produced video he added: "If you feel that you have to join the war you can join it in a sensible fashion: you can make sure that you're very visible for your brand term, and that you send a strong message out to the market that you intend to be number one for a term that you expected to get because it was trademarked."

Category: Miscellaneous