HuoMah Blog discovered that yet another person is trying to claim a trademark on the term SEO, search engine optimization. Clinton Cimring of a company called “Search Engine Partner” filed a trademark application with United States Patent and Trademark Office on January 5, 2009. The filing claims first use SEO as a trademark was on […]
Soon it will be possible to register domain names using local language character sets creating vast new opportunities for marketers - and domain name sellers. Time to act to protect your own domain names and trademarks in the new languages.
Google Can Sell Trademarked Keywords, EU Adviser Says from Bloomberg News reports the EU’s highest court has ruled Google can sell trademarked keywords in search ads. As we reported back in June 2008, Louis Vuitton sued Google over trademark issues with search ads and Google then appealed to this court. Google has won that appeal […]
As you may know, Google recently loosened its policy in the USA related to the use of trademarks in ad copy text, which went into effect on June 15, 2009. The big question is: has this change resulted in an increase in trademark use? The answer is yes. The Search Monitor tracks and monitors trademark […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Reports: Yahoo & Microsoft Very Close On Search Deal There are several reports tonight that Yahoo and Microsoft are close to consummating a search and advertising deal. 24/7 Wall Street cites […]
Search Marketing Now, our educational webcast series for search marketers, presents two webcasts this coming week: Tuesday, July 21, Chris Sherman is the featured speaker on How Large Offline Marketers Drive Superior Search Marketing Results; Wednesday, Brad Geddes will deliver a webcast titled Trademarks, Brand Terms and PPC Advertising: Updates You Must Know. Both webcasts […]
When faced with budget cuts, many marketers stop bidding on their brand and trademark terms. But doing so is a mistake. While it may be a quick and easy way to limit spend, it can negatively impact overall campaign performance. To achieve the greatest return from a search engine marketing campaign, most brand owners should […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
paidContent reports Microsoft has registered a new trademark for the term, “Sift.” The trademark filing describes the name as: Operating system software for mobile phones; computer search engine software; computer programs for searching email, text messages, address and contact information It was filed on January 9th and can possibly be used as the mobile search […]
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 […]
Google has been ordered to pay a total of €350,000 ($454,000) for violating two companies’ trademarks by allowing other companies to bid on those marks in AdWords in France. Google is appealing. According to a report in The Register: When web users typed the trade marked terms ‘voyageur du monde’ and ‘terres aventure’ into Google […]
Last week, the Rimm-Kaufman Group disclosed what is apparently an inadvertent bug in Google’s Broad Match algorithm. Last summer’s switch from minimum bid to first-page minimum bid wasn’t supposed to impact broad match logic at all, but it did in a big way. The result? Agencies and advertisers who pay attention to the numbers saw […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
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 […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
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 […]
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 […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
The UK PPC Blog tipped me off to Google announcing that the UK AdWords trademark policy has been changed to work like the US AdWords trademark policy. What this means is that UK advertisers can now bid on trademark terms. Earlier, those trademarked terms were blocked from bidding on within the AdWords network. The US […]
Eric Goldman commented on a case between one advertiser using another advertiser’s trademark in Google AdWords. The court has made a decision (PDF), ruling for the plaintiff, Storus, who sued Aroa for using their trademark in the AdWords title text. Eric Goldman said this is one of the first times we have seen the plaintiff […]
Gary Price reports Google has applied to trademark several terms this year, including Knol, Android, OpenSocial, Open Handset Alliance, Panoramio, Dalvik, and more. These trademark applications are common for companies wanting to protect their new product releases.
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
AdSense Disallowed On URLs Containing “Google”, Google Says from Google Blogoscoped shows an almost comical AdSense ban of a portion of his site. Reportedly, Google has disallowed him from displaying Google AdSense ads on the Chinese version of his site because it is located at https://google.blogoscoped.cn/. Google sent him the following explanation:
Google fined in German Gmail trademark case from News.com reports Google was ordered by a German court to pay $14,000 over using m.gmail.com for their mobile Gmail users. As we know, Google lost the Gmail trademark case in Germany and was ordered to stop using Gmail.com. It appears that Google violated that with m.gmail.com and […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Brand Owners on Web Offensive from Red Herring reports that Yahoo, Dell, Coca Cola, Hilton and others have joined together to fight cybersquatting. The companies formed a collation against cybersquatters named Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse. Cybersquatters purchase domain names that are similar to trademark names, such as yahooemail.com and hilt0n.com. Some use that traffic […]
Eric Goldman reports that Google has received a subpoena to turn over AdWords keyword purchase data that a company hopes will help it in a trademark case. Google plans to comply unless companies that bought the words “sports court” among others object to it formally.
Our newest Search Engine Land column, Brand Aid, launches today. covers the unique issues faced by search marketers responsible for campaigns featuring big or well-known brands. Columnists look at topics such as effective branding via search, trademark protection, “co-opitition” with affiliates, integrating search marketing with traditional brand marketing and more. In today’s debut article, Jessica […]
Via TechDirt, High-Tech Execs Meet With Lawmakers Over Web Search Keyword Law from the Associated Press covers how Utah might not enforce its new law banning ads linked to trademark terms. The law is set to go into effect today. We covered various issues with the law earlier this month. Now Utah lawmakers appear to […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Wow. Via Techdirt, news from the EFF that the Utah legislature has passed a Trademark Protection Act law preventing people from buying ads linked to terms that are also trademarks of others. The Trademark Blog notes the law probably violates the US Constitution. Certainly it will be hard to enforce. In addition, we’ve got US […]
One more on the entire National Pork Board going up against search marketer and breastfeeding activist Jennifer Laycock. Jennifer has now received two letters of apology, plus the National Pork Board is backing a fundraising campaign for the Mother’s Milk Bank Of Ohio. Good move, National Pork Board! In addition, you can now purchase newly […]
An Update on the "Pigsteria" and the Mother’s Milk Bank Fundraiser from Jennifer Laycock covers that the National Pork Board has now apologized to her over the legal threat about her using "The Other White Milk" as a slogan on shirts supporting breastfeeding. Great to hear! Background from us in National Pork Board Goes After […]
Google loses European GMail trademark battle by The Register reports that Google is not allowed to use the trademarked term “GMail” in Europe. The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) held that Daniel Giersch’s trademark of the term was valid and that Google could not use it.
Gary Price reports Google, the verb, was the second most popular word in Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year survey that just came out. Merriam-Webster published the top ten words over here. The top word is “truthiness” by Stephen Colbert.
In a two part post at the AdWords blog, Google has added more detail to their trademark policies. In part one, Google explains how trademark owners can prevent use of their trademarks in AdWords and how they can exclude some advertisers from the trademark policy. In part two, Google explains how advertisers can request to […]