Google's AdWords Program Continues to Challenge Trademark Owners and The Courts

The debate over the open sale of trademarks to trigger online advertising at Google has been heating up. Google AdWords allows anyone to bid on keywords that, when searched by others, wins the owner high placement in the search results page based on a combination of factors. This means that your company can bid on the word "shoes," for example, in order to have your footwear company placed prominently among the search results.

But what if you want to use the NIKE trademark to trigger an ad for your footwear website? And what if you don't even sell NIKE shoes? In most instances Google allows any company to bid on keywords and place advertising using another company's trademark.

Courts across the United States have reached different conclusions on whether Google's use of trademarks as AdWords constitutes "trademark use in commerce," a necessary element of a successful trademark infringement lawsuit. The 9th Circuit, which includes Arizona and California, has held that the sale of trademark-protected words in the AdWords program is a "use in commerce" for purposes of federal trademark law. Courts in the 2nd Circuit, which includes New York, have held otherwise, holding that Google's actions are not a "use in commerce" under federal trademark law. The courts have largely accepted Google's contention that there is no trademark use in commerce because any use of the mark is internal only, and Google had never "used the mark" publicly by placing the trademark on any goods, containers, advertisements, or anything else visible to the public.

This split between east and west, or 2nd and 9th circuit, may be changing. Recently, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals for New York reversed a lower court's determination on the "use in commerce" issue. In Rescuecom v. Google, the Second Circuit found that selling trademarks as search engine advertising keywords can be a "use in commerce." "What Google is recommending and selling to its advertisers is Rescuecom's trademark," said the Court's ruling. "Google displays, offers, and sells Rescuecom's mark to Google's advertising customers when selling its advertising services."

We haven't seen the end of this issue. Other cases are pending against Google, and Google is said to be liberalizing its policy to permit use of third-party trademarks in some ads themselves. It remains to be seen whether the 2nd Circuit will distinguish a competitor's purchase of trademarks for use in keyword searches from Google's sale of trademarks.

Each case a business may face is unique and may require legal advice. Please consult an attorney about specific concerns in this area. For more information, contact Bradley P. Hartman at bhartman@jsslaw.com or 602.262.5842.