May 18, 2009 at 5:59pm ET by Danny Sullivan

Earlier this month, my Why Hasn’t Google Cleared, Fired Or Suspended Accused AdWords Employee? article asked why Google hadn't yet publicly commented about accusations that one of their employees may have abused the AdWords system for his own benefit. Now the company is speaking up -- and saying it has found no wrongdoing. Google's sent me this statement: The privacy and security of our users and advertisers' account information is a top priority for us, and our internal policies prohibit any use of non-public advertiser data for personal gain. After a thorough investigation, we fo [...]

Google To Allow Trademarks To Be Used In AdWords Copy In US

May 14, 2009 at 9:40pm ET by Danny Sullivan

Google, which recently liberalized the use of trademark terms as a trigger for showing ads, has again opened up its ad policies to allow trademark terms to be used within ad copy, in certain circumstances, within the United States. Currently, registered trademark holders can request that Google prevent their trademarks from being used in ad copy. Trademarks can still be used by anyone to trigger ads, however. Beginning June 15th, this will change -- as long as the advertiser is a reseller of a product or is providing information about it. How It Works Let's use Apple as an examp [...]

Google Employee Required To Hand Over AdWords Account Details

May 14, 2009 at 3:24pm ET by Barry Schwartz

We obtained documents on a court order that the judge issued in the Jeremy Schoemaker case against a Google employee for trademark infringement. Both Jeremy and the defendant filed motions, in which the court ordered the defendant to hand over the historical data of his AdWords account, amongst other items. The court order, which is embedded below, gives Jeremy the right to conduct jurisdictional discovery prior at this point in time. Which means he can subpoena Google, the Googler and his ISP for information related to the case. Technically, I believe, this means Jeremy can be granted [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: Legal | Legal: Trademarks

Google Sued For Infringing On All Texas Trademark Owners

May 12, 2009 at 9:52am ET by Barry Schwartz

Eric Goldman reports that Google was sued yesterday by FBX for infringing on the trademarks of all of the Texas trademark owners. Yes, this is a massive class action suit, not just against Google but also against YouTube, AOL, Tuner, MySpace and IAC. We have had many suits filed against Google over trademark infringement in the AdWords system, but this one differs in that it is a class action lawsuit. Eric said it best, "If a plaintiff's lawyer could win an injunction on behalf of every trademark owner in the state of Texas, that could bring Google to its knees. Surely Google would be wil [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Legal | Legal: Trademarks

Forbes.com CEO Spanfeller Attacks Google, Stumbles Into His Own Cesspool

May 5, 2009 at 11:24pm ET by Danny Sullivan

Another publisher is complaining that Google isn't giving them their "fair share" -- this time Forbes CEO Jim Spanfeller. Google makes $60 million off the Forbes brand, he claims (with no proof), and boosting "quality publishers" like Forbes would help Eric Schmidt's web sewage problem. This is from the publication that sells paid links that helps the sewage rise in Google? I've already dissected some of the misconceptions that Spanfeller and other publishers have about Google in my Sorry, Tom Curley: Don’t Expect A Google Ranking Boost For The AP post from last week. This time, I'l [...]

Google AdWords Opens Up Trademarked Bidding To Most Countries

May 5, 2009 at 4:34pm ET by Barry Schwartz

BrandVerity tipped me off to news that Google has modified its AdWords trademark policy to allow bidding on trademarked terms in 190 new countries. The policy is in line with the same trademark policy that we have in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. I asked Google for a comment on this change, which went into place yesterday. Google said: Yesterday, we announced an upcoming change to our trademark complaint procedure for AdWords in many regions around the world - a full list can be found here. This change was already made in the US and Canada in 2004 and the UK [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Legal: Trademarks

Why Hasn’t Google Cleared, Fired Or Suspended Accused AdWords Employee?

May 4, 2009 at 11:56pm ET by Danny Sullivan

Google takes plenty of well-publicized heat for things it hasn't really done or concerns that get hyped. But in the case of one of its AdWords employees being accused of bypassing AdWords policies for his own benefit, I'm surprised the Big G isn't being dragged over the coals. Over a month after the initial accusations, the person appears to still be fully employed at Google, without Google issuing any public comment about the case. In early April, Jeremy "ShoeMoney" Schoemaker filed suit against Keyen Farrell -- a Google AdWords account coordinator -- alleging that Farrell was infr [...]

An Update On ShoeMoney Vs. Google Employee Trademark Case

May 4, 2009 at 10:04am ET by Barry Schwartz

We have an update on the story "Google Employee Alleged To Have Bypassed AdWords Trademark Policy For Own Benefit" from about a month ago. Keyen Farrell, the Google AdWords employee, has filed his documents with the court. I have attached those documents below for you to read. In short, Keyen Farrell claimed he did not know that ShoeMoney was a trademarked term. He said that Google is to blame if the keyword was put into the ad system, because he was using the Google system and it must have allowed it. But as Danny showed earlier, the Google trademark system did not allow him to place [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: Legal | Legal: Trademarks

Small Business Owner Sues Google & Others Over ‘Android’ Name

May 1, 2009 at 3:36pm ET by Matt McGee

An Illinois small business owner is suing Google and 46 other companies because he says they're infringing on his business name: Android Data. Forbes reports that the lawsuit was filed Tuesday, and seeks almost $100 million in damages from Google and all other companies in the Open Handset Alliance, which includes T-Mobile, Motorola, Toshiba, Sprint Nextel, Qualcomm, and others. Erich Specht formed Android Data in 1998, and had the name trademarked in 2002. His attorney, Martin Murphy, gave this statement to Forbes: "Basically, it's a stolen name. It's our trademark, and Google is usin [...]

Google Employee Alleged To Have Bypassed AdWords Trademark Policy For Own Benefit

Apr 8, 2009 at 3:01pm ET by Danny Sullivan

Well-known internet marketer Jeremy "ShoeMoney" Schoemaker has filed suit against Keyen Farrell, apparently a Google employee alleged to have used Schoemaker's US-registered trademark in search ads on Google. While issues over trademarks in search ads are heating up, the bigger issue in the case is why Google itself didn't take action to stop the ads and whether an employee did indeed access Schoemaker's AdWords account to gain competitive data. Google's trademark policy allows for trademarks to "trigger" ads -- make ads appear when a trademark word is involved in a search query -- [...]

Court: Trademarked Keywords Can’t Be Used By Third Parties In AdWords

Apr 6, 2009 at 11:13am ET by Greg Sterling

Last week the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the Rescuecom v. Google case that has some potentially serious implications for all concerned. The appellate court has jurisdiction over cases arising in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont but the case has national impact because of the way that AdWords is operated and administered. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) decries the ruling, which found that use of trademarked keywords in AdWords, even though they don't appear in ad text, constitute a potential violation of trademark law. Here's the EFF's explanation of what [...]

Why Do Lawyers From Utah Hate Search Ads?

Mar 5, 2009 at 2:31pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Eric Goldman reports that Utah, for the third time, is trying to regulate keyword advertising by proposing new law. The first two times they failed, but they are hoping the third time will be a charm. This revised law proposal, HB 450, is trying to prevent registered marks as triggers for keyword advertising but specifically excludes the search engines from being liable, themselves. So this new law only is for advertisers plus it holds affiliates' keyword purchases liable for (what I think is) the telephone directory assistance industry. Keep in mind, Utah didn't get the law passed thei [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Legal: General | Legal: Trademarks

Yahoo Doesn’t Take Beef Over Akaushi Keyword Lawsuit

Feb 16, 2009 at 9:20am ET by Barry Schwartz

Eric Goldman covers a recent lawsuit where Heartbrand Beef, Inc. sued several companies, including Yahoo, for selling the keyword "Akaushi" to Lobel's of New York. Akaushi is a very expensive Japanese type of beef, known for being marbled with fat and coming out extremely tender. Lobel's does not sell Akaushi, but Heartbrand is the largest Akaushi cattle company outside of Japan and they felt that Lobel's was being deceitful with their ads at Yahoo. Heartbrand also felt Yahoo allowing the ad "constituted Lanham Act false designation of origin and common law unfair competition," said Gold [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Legal: Trademarks | Yahoo: Legal | Yahoo: Search Ads

Google Wins “Gu Ge” Lawsuit In China

Jan 6, 2009 at 11:23am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google Wins Lawsuit on Name, Trademark of Subsidiary in China from Bloomberg reports that Google has won the lawsuit over Google's trademark on its Chinese subsidiary "Gu Ge." The Beijing Haidian District Court ruled that Beijing Guge Science and Technology has to pay Google China 100,000 yuan ($14,624). In addition, Beijing Guge is required to stop using the name. The suit was first filed back in July 2007, where Beijing Guge sued Google for the use of the name. The court case began in December of that year, but then I thought it was dismissed. It appears that Beijing Guge's case was [...]

Who Coined The Term SEO?

Oct 2, 2008 at 3:55pm ET by Bob Heyman

Someone's trying to trademark the term SEO, which has roiled the SEO community. The someone is named Jason Gambert, and he has filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, claiming to have coined the term "SEO" (for Search Engine Optimization). SEOMoz and others have moved to challenge Gambert's claim. As the person (along with my partner Leland Harden), who actually did coin the term Search Engine Optimization back in 1995, I feel uniquely qualified to weigh in on the validity of Gambert's claim. Jason Gambert asserts that he was the first to use the term SEO, in a 2007 email. The act [...]

Using Competitive Intelligence To Protect Your Brand

Aug 18, 2008 at 11:09am ET by Eric Enge

Protecting your brand online is an ongoing activity. It requires hard work and due diligence. One area of concern is when others bid on your brand, or use your brand name in their ads. My current understanding of Google's policy is that it's OK to bid on a competitive brand name, but it is not OK to use in your ad. Yahoo's policy appears to be a bit stricter, and does allow for the possibility of prohibiting the bidding on a trademarked term. So how big a problem is this? Let's look at some data, courtesy of Hitwise for searches on the brand name "Orbitz": A quick look at thi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Industrial Strength | Legal: Trademarks

American Airlines And Google Settle Keyword Lawsuit

Jul 21, 2008 at 8:33am ET by Barry Schwartz

American Airlines Drops Google Trademark Lawsuit from Bloomberg reports that the two sides have settled the search ad legal dispute. Each side has agreed to pay their own legal fees and the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. American Airlines sued Google about a year ago over trademark infringement in their AdWords product. In short, American Airlines did not want Google to allow advertisers to bid on the following terms: American Airlines, American Airlines Deal, Free AA Travel Offers, americanairlines.com, AmericanAirlines, American Airline, AmericanAirlines Com, www.americanai [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Legal | Legal: Trademarks

Competitors Taking Action Against Competitors For Search Ad Trademark Infringement

Jun 30, 2008 at 8:05am ET by Barry Schwartz

Search ads trigger trademark lawsuit from rival from News.com reports on another search ad trademark lawsuit. This one differs in that the plaintiff is not suing a search engine, but rather suing his competitor. NameSafe sued LifeLock for allegedly allowing one of their resellers to show search ads with NameSafe's trademarks within the ad copy. The ads were triggered on a search for [namesafe], and the ads contained "Namesafe" in the title of the ad. Namesafe is not objecting to buying the keyword [namesafe] but rather using the trademark in the ad text. Most search ad trademark policies [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Legal: Trademarks

Louis Vuitton Offers Google More Trademark Trouble In Europe

Jun 4, 2008 at 12:20pm ET by Greg Sterling

Even as Google is liberalizing its trademark policy in Europe to agree with the US policy, luxury goods maker Luis Vuitton may turn back the clock and force a more restrictive policy on Google. France's highest court ruled for Louis Vuitton last year in a trademark case involving AdWords. Google has appealed. The European Court of Justice will hear the case (date uncertain) and issue a ruling (although that may not come for a year), which will effectively become the law across the EU. The stakes are very high for Google. If it loses the appeal, it will be compelled to adopt whatever rules th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Legal: Trademarks

Search Biz: Where’s Eurekster?, Grab Google’s Gazillions?, WiFi “On Steriods,” & Yahoo Readies For Proxy Battle

May 23, 2008 at 5:12pm ET by Greg Sterling

Google’s recent decision to make its UK keyword bidding policy conform with the US practice of allowing competitors to bid on each other’s brands has drawn ire and threats of legal action. Today brings more such news of potential legal action against Google from a range of travel companies and retailers in the UK. Also angry at Google is BusinessWeek writer Roben Farzad, who penned a sarcastic and even, at times, bitter commentary called Let’s Grab Google’s Gazillions, which laments the fact that Google is so successful and has so much cash in a economy that looks pretty bad for lots [...]

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