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MediaPost Publications Google: Allowing Competitors To Buy Trademarked Keywords Is 'Pro-Consumer' 07/14/2009##
This whole trademark issue can be rather muddy and at the very least confusing. If you do a trademark search on the government website: http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm you'll find an amazing array of trademarked terms. For instance, "twilight". Now I understand the desire to protect the title of your book, or movie, or whatever intellectual property you wish to protect. But seriously, how can you possibly trademark the word "twilight" when it is a commonly used word.
In the above-linked article, I was surprised to read this: "Google has allowed trademarks to trigger ads for five years," since my personal experience has been to the contrary. Several months ago, I was prevented from running an Adwords ad with the term, "March Madness," for trademark reasons (according to the Google slap I received). In my mind, it's not much different than a store being permitted to use a brand name to promote a product that it sells. How could Best Buy let consumers know it sold the Flip UltraHD™ if they couldn't advertise the brand?
Admittedly, my understanding of trademark issues is extremely lacking. I guess I'll have to put my research hat on and try to make some sense of it all. In the meantime, I think I will use the advice that I heard in a recent webinar. "Use any term you want in your ads until Google tells you you can't.
If any of you have some insight, advice, experience, etc, in this area, please share. I'd love to hear your comments.
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