How Will Google’s Recent Trademark Changes Affect You?

• How Will Google’s Recent Trademark Changes Affect You?

  tags: trade marks, adwords
  

  • Google has recently made two big changes regarding trademark usage within AdWords. One is a shift in the number of countries where trademarked words are allowed as keywords. The other is how trademarked words are allowed in ad copy within the US.

    Google’s trademark policy has been rehashed in several large media outlets. Unfortunately, most of them got it wrong. So to clarify, here is a rough overview of the current AdWords trademark policy for the US, UK, Ireland, and Canada:

    • Any trademarked term can be used as a keyword
    • Any trademarked term can be used in ad copy
    • If the trademark holder asks Google to not allow others to use a trademarked term, then it will be disapproved from ad copy, but can still be used as a keyword
    • A trademark holder can allow only certain companies to use their trademark in ads (but this is all or nothing, with no conditional usage)