Google has asked a US court to declare that its policy of selling
keyword-triggered advertising does not amount to trade mark
infringement. The search engine company is fighting brand owners
over certain phrases that it considers generic.
Google has asked a US court to declare that its policy of selling keyword-triggered advertising does not amount to trade mark infringement after disputes between the search engine and brand owners as to whether or not certain phrases are protected or generic.
With Google's AdWords service, advertisers can sponsor particular search terms so that, for a fee, whenever that term is searched the advertiser’s link will appear next to the search results.
The company does respect unarguable trade marks. Reebok is unlikely to succeed in sponsoring the word 'Nike', for example; but 'sportswear', being a generic word, would likely be available to anyone.
The subject of the current dispute is the American Blind & Wallpaper Factory. It complained to Google about its sale of certain words that it said were protected by its trade marks.
According to reports, Google agreed to stop selling terms that were specifically related to the trade marks – such as 'American Blind Factory'. But, Google refused to block merely descriptive or generic phrases, such as 'American blind'.
This is not the first dispute of its kind that Google has encountered. In October, Google France was fined €70,000 by a Paris court for allowing advertisers to sponsor the terms "bourse des vols" (flight market) and "bourse des voyages" (travel market) – terms apparently registered as trade marks by travel agencies Luteciel and Viaticum. Another action against the company by fashion house Louis Vuitton is pending.
Google wants the legality of sponsored search terms to be clarified before it is hit by a flood of similar claims.
According to CNET News.com the filing states, “An actual, present and justiciable controversy has arisen between Google and American Blind concerning Google's right to sell keyword-triggered advertising to its customers […] Google seeks declaratory judgment from this court that its current policy regarding the sale of keyword-triggered advertising does not constitute trademark infringement."
See also: Google pays for selling ads on trade marked terms, OUT-LAW News, 20/10/2003
