The Inside AdWords blog details an update to Google’s US ad text trademark policy:
“Imagine opening your Sunday paper and seeing ads from a large supermarket chain that didn’t list actual products for sale; instead, they simply listed the categories of products available – offers like “Buy discount cola” and “Snacks on sale.” The ads wouldn’t be useful since you wouldn’t know what products are actually being offered. For many categories of advertisers, this is the problem they have faced on Google for some time.“
It strikes me as more than a little amusing for Google to ridicule the situation – the situation that they themselves have imposed on their advertisers.
And while the next paragraph begins with the obligatory “in an effort to improve ad quality and user experience” statement, the already murky waters of their trademark policy are muddied further, with a little black paint added for good measure.
In a nutshell:
“…we are adjusting our trademark policy in the U.S. to allow some ads to use trademarks in the ad text. This change will bring Google’s policy on trademark use in ad text more in line with the industry standard.“
Some ads? Which ads? And will these ads be allowed to use all trademarks? Or only some of them?
It should go without saying that Google’s trademark policy only serves to protect Google. If they could shift all liability for displaying trademarked terms onto their advertisers, I’m quite sure they would do so. But understandably, they have no wish to clash swords with the legal resources of some of the largest companies in the world.
In the interests of being, very, very generous, a small amount of credit should go to Google for trying to loosen the reins a little, but advertisers have to be aware that the situation is far from resolved. At some point we can expect a high-profile legal case where a company will take an aggressive stand to protect their trademarked items. Until then, the issue of trademarks in online content and ads is an extremely gray area, and advertisers need to be aware of the possible risks of bidding on trademark terms, whether knowingly or not.
And Google’s new terms are more open to interpretation and speculation than ever before.
Google appear to be getting a little too comfortable sitting on the fence, and rightly or wrongly, advertisers are starting to feel that firmer guidance is required. If they do not receive the explicit rules they need, they may simply start to play it safe. Left to run its course, this could eventually lead to advertisers too afraid to bid on any trademarked terms, and users of Google unable to find what they are looking for.
Google have been the undisputed Kings of Search for so long that they may be unaware of the fractures appearing in their throne.
Update to U.S. ad text trademark policy
