On September 14, 2010, Google is set to change its controversial
AdWords policy for Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and most of the rest of
Europe.1 In recent years, Google has systematically
altered its AdWords trademark policy - both geographically and in substance -
with a tendency toward expanding the circumstances in which an online
advertiser is allowed to utilize an unrelated party's trademark. The upcoming
changes follow this trend: For the first time, advertisers throughout most of
Europe will be able to utilize trademarks - at least in a limited fashion - for
online advertising through Google.2
Google's AdWords
Google's AdWords allows an advertiser to "tie" its online
advertisements to a keyword, such that when a user "Googles" the keyword, the
"tied" advertisement is displayed in a "Sponsored Links" section of the results
page. Not surprisingly, online advertisers frequently seek to "tie" their
advertisements to keywords that correspond to trademarks corresponding to
products other than those of the company purchasing the keyword-triggered ad.
Online advertisers may also attempt to include the keyword within the text of
their online advertisement. An advertisement buyer may wish to buy a keyword
trademark of a third party because the advertiser is, for instance, a vendor of
that third party's products (e.g.,
an online shoe store buying "Nike" as a keyword to drive traffic to its Nike
shoe offerings), or, in other instances, a competitor of the third party (e.g., adidas
hypothetically buying "Nike" as a keyword to suggest adidas brand shoes as a
possible alternative for a customer who had initially been considering buying
Nike shoes).
To a trademark holder concerned with policing its brand, both uses
might be of concern, and multiple suits, in multiple jurisdictions, have been
filed against Google as a result. Google's AdWords policy has developed in
response to this litigation - sometimes with clear judicial guidance, but
oftentimes without it.
Europe (excluding the UK and Ireland)3
The upcoming policy change for most of Europe is one instance in
which Google received (somewhat) clear judicial guidance. In particular, as we
reported earlier this year, the Court of Justice (the highest judicial
authority for the European Union), in a March 2010 opinion, sided
with Google, at least in a limited sense, as to Google's right to allow
advertisers to tie advertisements to keywords corresponding to trademarks.4 Google has incorporated this ruling into its
new AdWords policy for (most of) Europe, which can be summarized as follows:
-
Advertisers can
"tie" their advertisements to keywords corresponding to trademarks;
-
Advertisers cannot
use the keywords within the text of their advertisements; and
-
Trademark owners can request that Google remove an ad which meets
the first two prongs, but Google will only do so if the ad text creates a
likelihood of confusion.5
Other than allowing advertisers to use trademarks as keywords -
which is a large shift - the rest of the policy is fairly similar to the
current policy. Presently, a trademark owner must file a complaint with Google
before any action will be taken - even on an ad that uses a trademark within
its text.6 Under the new policy, a trademark holder must
still file a complaint; however, Google will no longer automatically remove ads
that use trademarks as keywords. Instead, action will only be taken if the
trademark is used in the ad text itself or the ad text creates a likelihood of
confusion - a new prong in the AdWords policy.7
Canada, the UK and Ireland
The current policy in Canada, the UK and Ireland is similar to the
new policy discussed above. Namely, advertisers can "tie" advertisements to
keywords corresponding to another's mark, but trademark holders can also - by
complaining to Google - generally prevent the mark from appearing in ad text.8 The new policy, however, severely limits a
trademark holder's opportunity to halt the use of trademarks within ad text,
essentially aligning the AdWords policy in Canada, the UK and Ireland with the
U.S. version of the AdWords policy, Google's least restrictive for advertisers.
The new policy can be summarized as follows:
-
Advertisers can
select trademarks as keywords, and
-
Advertisers generally have an unequivocal right to use the keyword
within ad text within the following categories:
- the keyword is used in a descriptive manner, or
- the keyword is used a nominative manner, as in referring
to trademarked goods for resale, for sale of replacement parts, or for
informational purposes.9
Clearly, a trademark holder can no longer have an ad removed by
simply establishing that its mark appears in the ad text. Instead, for an ad to
be removed under the new policy, the use of the trademark must fall outside of
the excepted categories listed above, which are in effect descriptive and
nominative "fair use" as defined by US jurisprudence, curiously now being
applied to international jurisdictions.
Nevertheless, Google's policy does indicate a willingness to
remove those ads that should be most troubling to an advertiser, stating that
"the primary purpose of the advertiser's site must be to provide
non-competitive and informative details about the goods and services
corresponding to the trademark term[, and]...the advertiser may not sell or
facilitate the sale of the goods or services of a competitor of the trademark
owner."10
Conclusion
It should be stated that Google's AdWords policy does not - and
could not - restrict when a trademark holder can sue an online advertiser
directly; indeed, direct suits seem to be Google's preference. Rather, Google's
policy changes only affect how Google will respond to a complaint from a
trademark holder. For a trademark holder concerned about online advertising,
the new Google policies, like the current ones, require vigilance. Although the
policy changes in the respective jurisdictions discussed herein reduce the
likelihood that a complaint will result in the removal of an online ad, the
best course of action for a trademark holder is still to be vigilant in
protecting its mark through a systematic and continual policing policy.
1 Google's Inside AdWords Blog, Update to Canadian, UK
and Ireland ad text trademark policy.
2 Saltmarsh, Matthew, Google
Will Sell Brand Names as Keywords in Europe.
3 Full list
of countries affected.
4 Joined Cases C-236/08 to C-238/08, Google France SARL et al. v. Louis
Vuitton Malletier et al., 2010 E.C.R. I-0000, available here;
see also Press
Release No 32/10, Court of Justice of the European Union, available here.
5 Updates
to AdWords Trademark Policy.
6 What is Google's
AdWords and AdSense trademark policy?
7 Id.
8 What is Google's
AdWords and AdSense trademark policy?
9 Google's Inside AdWords Blog, Update to Canadian, UK
and Ireland ad text trademark policy.
10 What is Google's
reseller and informational site policy?