When Search Engine Marketing and Trademarks Collide

In the world of marketing, branding issues are always an important part of any campaign. Companies work hard for their name to be recognized as a quality organization and a leader in their field. Companies will defend any action they see as a negative to their brand. They do not want unauthorized third parties to advertise their products, because they may do it in a poor manner which will generate negative consequences for the quality of the company's brand. Recently, Google was charged with trademark violations by Geico and American Blinds. The cases (C 03-05340 JF US District Court For The Northern District Of California San Jose Division) have gone to the discovery phase of litigation, which means the judges have said there is enough there right now factually to potentially justify these lawsuits. The impact of this trial could be vast for search marketers.

A "trademark" is a word, symbol (i.e., logo) or phrase used to identify a particular product and distinguish it from other products in the marketplace. The degree of distinctiveness or uniqueness is what usually determines legal protection. Terms or symbols that are not unique to a particular product or company are generally not given protection. Generic terms are also not protected. The claims made by Geico and American Blinds are that Google's AdWords program violates the law by allowing competitors to purchase keywords that are protected trademarks. Geico and American Blinds contest that by allowing advertisers to bid on their keyword that is in essence the same thing as selling the Geico or American Blinds name without their authorization.

Trademark law was instituted primarily to protect the consumer. When a customer sees a brand or logo, they associate a certain quality and expectation with that logo. If inferior companies were allowed to use the same logo and have worse products or services, the consumer would not know what to expect. With trademark law the consumer gets a degree of certainty and avoids confusion or unmet expectations.

According to lawyers this litigation could get very complicated. What Google needs to do is convince the court that there is no customer confusion with respect to keywords and how Google serves ads based on search queries. They will establish this most likely by running various consumer surveys. If successful, this would establish a legal precedent preventing future lawsuits of the same nature; however, there is big risk if Google fails. Ninety-five to ninety-nine percent of Google's income is from its advertising model, and a ruling against it could be trouble for the company. If they settle, however, like Overture did then it sets no legal precedence, making it possible for other companies to make the same charges in the future.

Whatever the result, it is clear that in the coming months something will happen to search marketing. At the very least, Google will have to monitor trademark infringement a bit more vigorously; at the worst the company may lose a part of its revenue.

About The Author:
Tommy Maric is the manager of TopPayingKeywords.com. TopPayingKeywords.com is designed to help webmasters maximize their profits using Google's Adsense? program. Through extensive research, TopPayingKeywords.com develops up-to-date databases of the most popular keywords and their accompanying bid prices. For more information, please visit http://www.toppayingkeywords.com

Contact:
877-TOP-WORD
(877-867-9673)
info@TopPayingKeywords.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Branding Information:

Related Articles

Your Identity Speaks Loudly...What Are You Saying?
Your corporate identity is a graphic expression of who you are as an organization. It plays a major role in what sells your company and its products.
Is It Legal? - Indecent Naming With Tradition
When Mitsubishi launched a new car with the name "Pajero" on the Spanish market, it became obvious very soon that the name chosen was not optimal because it immediately was the subject of jokes due to its homophony with a Spanish expression related to masturbation.The same happened to Ford's model "Pinto" (Portuguese for male genital) in Brazil where it was quickly renamed into "Corcel"(horse).
Creative Branding Increases Sales Through Company Recognition
The one thing that everyone has in common is that we are all consumers; we all buy. Every day, from daily small purchases, like your morning coffee and newspaper, to big monthly or yearly purchases, like a television or a car.
Extend Your Marketing Reach: Sponsor an Organization’s Calendar
Are you worried that your calendar will get tossed out? Only a few calendars can be made successful and the rest will likely end up collecting dust. The cost of calendar printing will be worth it if you actually get to design a great concept and advertise it, but how would yours make the cut?
You'll Bring a Parade of Business to Your Door!
Parades happen in every big city and many small towns. They are fun, relaxing and most people are there because they really want to be.
Britney Spears Branding
How would you like to sell as much in one year as Britney sells in one day or in one hour? Have you put much thought into how marketing empires are created? If you're selling anything then you're a marketer and you should study the biggest successes to follow in their footsteps.We've all heard of branding, but do you do it? Have you branded yourself? If you have, are you expanding your marketing opportunities with your brand?Once you've created a name, built successful marketing campaigns and gotten people to know and like who you and your company are don't stop there.
Whats In A Name? When It Comes To Your Business, Plenty!
Q: How important is the name of a business? Should the name of a business reflect what the business does or is it better to come up with something catchy and easy to remember?-- Randy P.A: What's in a name? When it comes to your business, Randy, a lot more than you might think.
How to Write Classified Ads that Get Results Now.
SELLING DIRECTLY FROM A CLASSIFIED AD Classified ads can be used to sell products directly from the ad.This works best for items costing no more thanapproximately $5.
The Positioning of Success
Many businesses of today are often driven to compete striclty on price, quality, and features of their products and services. Companies who prosper over the long term don't simply offer the best deals, the best quality, or the most impressive bells and whistles.
Play Your Position! - The Only Way to Win in Business
Have you ever watched 5-year-olds play soccer? It should be called "Follow the Ball," because that is what happens the entire game. The beginning of the game starts with players in assigned positions.
Branding Guru - Brand Identity Guru
Branding TodayHave you ever had a good brand experience? How about a bad brand experience? Is there a difference in your mind? How many people do you tell about a positive brand experience? How about for a poor brand experience?One poor brand experience will not destroy a firm. One poor brand experience per day, however, can ruin a company in the long run for sure.
Understand Brand
Branding has been defined, explained and examined extensively. There are books, articles, publications, seminars, and groups all dedicated to exploring the meaning and use of brand today.
Choosing The Right Business Name
Sometimes, new entrepreneurs are in such a rush to get started at their businesses that they jump right into working with customers without giving much thought to their BUSINESS NAME. "I'll just do business under my own name for a while, until I find something I like.
Corporate Logo Design - 6 Keys to Success
A corporate logo design should be highly instrumental in building your corporate identity and should successfully exude the company's attitude. The viewers must have some idea about the disposition, character, or fundamental values of your company through your logo.
Its Time For Some Steak
Recently, I was reviewing our website statistics. One of the sites that had a link to mine caught me by surprise.
New Uniforms Could be the Gold Charm for the Golden Arches
New designer uniforms could be the gold charm McDonald's needs to connect their new hip marketing campaign to their fast-food restaurants. This possible gold charm for the fast-food chain has the ability to let the actual fast-food restaurants reflect the image they are portraying in their advertisement campaign.
Quick Tactics To Brand Your Business And Make More Sales
This may come as a surprise..
How Brand as an Intellectual Property has Led to Corporate Globalisation?
IntroductionGlobalisation is referred to as a set of profound material changes that have an impact on relations between societies in the past few decades. The identifiable features of these material changes are witnessed in the development and growth of web, satellite transmission, fibre-optic technology, broadband operations, transnational corporations and the emergence of World Trade Organisation.
Into The Limelight
To stand out in a cluttered world, become a recognized expertThere are millions of small businesses vying for our attention. Yet, because the marketplace is more discriminating and skeptical, it's hard to get noticed.
Hiring the Right Graphic Designer for Your Small Business
Every small business needs it, but not many have it. I am not talking about cash flow, clients or even your product or services to sell.