Using brand names

brand names in keywords

[chas057]

What is the situation about using brand names to attract traffic? I am thinking about brand names that are related to your subject but are not yours - potentially even your competitors! Are they likely to come after you if you do this?

[Quadrille]

There's nothing wrong with discussing the merits of Kellogg's Corn Flakes, or Heinz Baked beans - but there's a lot wrong with 'dropping' the words other than in 'fair usage'.

If you abuse trademarked brand names, then the more the technique succeeds, the more likely you are to become visible enough to attract lawyers.

If they are an honest part of your content, no problem - else you risk building your hopes on a foundation that may get legally removed.

[added:] Sorry, just realised this was in the 'adwords' forum - you cannot use trademarked terms in adwords at all, unless you own them, so far as I'm aware. [/]

[edited by: Quadrille at 10:24 am (utc) on Aug. 21, 2006]

[netmeg]

You can use the trademarked terms in your keywords; you can NOT use them in your ads.

(Note - those are just Google's rules; there's nothing to prevent your competitor from coming at you if you use his trademarked terms as keywords, but I don't know if there's ever been any definitive case law on this one way or the other)

[edited by: netmeg at 4:20 pm (utc) on Aug. 21, 2006]

[Khensu]

Thanks I was understanding that was the impression, netmeg.

[edited by: Khensu at 4:22 pm (utc) on Aug. 21, 2006]

[jtara]

You can use the trademarked terms in your keywords; you can NOT use them in your ads.

In the U.S., that is.

In Europe, you can't use trademarked terms in your keywords.

The policy varies, depending on local case law and/or pending lawsuits. In some countries, perhaps the issue has not been quite settled, but Google sees the handwriting on the wall, and has altered their policy.

[AdWordsAdvisor]

...you cannot use trademarked terms in adwords at all, unless you own them, so far as I'm aware.

You can use the trademarked terms in your keywords; you can NOT use them in your ads.

What may and may not be done depends on a number of factors - such as in what country (or countries) the trademark rights are held - as well as whether or not the trademark holder has formally filed a "complaint" in regard to their trademark, what that complaint specifies in particular, etc.

For those interested in getting more info, I'd suggest starting in the AdWords Help Center here:

What is Google's trademark policy?
[adwords.google.com...]

Once there, be sure to follow the link for "trademark complaint procedure", as this is where the nuts and bolts info will be found. The "Printable complaint form", linked-to from the complaint procedure page is also worth a look.

AWA

<edit> fixed URL so it works! </edit>

[edited by: AdWordsAdvisor at 5:27 pm (utc) on Aug. 21, 2006]