Google claims AdWords victory but advertisers could be liable
23 March 2010
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Emma Barraclough, London
Google has won a key legal battle over its AdWords programme after Europe’s top court said that the search engine had not breached EU trade mark law by allowing advertisers to bid on keywords trademarked by third parties
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJ) ruled today in three closely watched joined cases, including one brought by luxury goods company LVMH, referred to it by France’s Cour de cassation.
The Court said that a referencing service provider such as Google allows its advertising clients to use signs which are identical with, or similar to, trade marks, but does not itself use those signs.
It said that if a trade mark has been used as a keyword, the proprietor of that trade mark cannot rely, as against Google, on the exclusive right which it derives from its mark.
But trade mark owners scored a victory in the case after the CJ said they should be able to invoke their exclusive rights to the mark against advertisers who arrange for Google to display adverts that make it difficult for internet users to see who is offering the...
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