In the past people were unable to place Google AdWords bids on trademark keyword phrases. Google has recently changed it’s trademark policy to allow people to bid on keywords which match trademark phrases of companies within the US and Canada. Inside the US and Canada they will not allow trademark terms to appear in the ad copy. Outside those areas they will check ad text and keyword.
Google AdWords Trademark Complaint Procedure – Trademark rights in US and Canada
When we receive a complaint from a trademark owner, we will only investigate whether the advertisements at issue are using the trademarked term in ad text . If they are, we will require the advertiser to remove the trademarked term from the text of the ad and prevent the advertiser from using the trademarked term in ad text in the future. Please note that we will not disable keywords associated with trademark usage. In addition, please note that any such investigation will only affect ads served on or by Google.
Google AdWords Trademark Complaint Procedure – Trademark rights outside US and Canada
When we receive a complaint from a trademark owner, our review is limited to ensuring that the advertisements at issue are not using the trademarked term in the ad text or as a keyword trigger. If they are, we will require the advertiser to remove the trademarked term from the ad text or keyword list and will prevent the advertiser from using the trademarked term in the future. Please note that any such investigation will only affect ads served on or by Google.
Source: Google Trademark Complain Procedure
posted by Aaron Wall
