According to Michael Orey of Business Week, Google is planning to begin allowing AdWords advertisers to bid on the trademarked names of their competitors. Beginning June 4th, marketers in around 200 countries will be allowed to purchase trademarked terms within AdWords. This move could lead to some fireworks as companies begin to bid to have their links show up when someone searches for a competitor’s product.
Google has generally not allowed the use of Trademarked terms by AdWords advertisers due to several lawsuits and legal challenges. Google is confident in their legal position on the issue and is making their confidence clear. Notably absent from the list of 200 countries are those within the European Union. This may soon change, however, as the European High Court is set to rule in a case brought against Google by Louis Vuitton.
