Google's International Keyword Advertising Trademark Policy Change

In the past, Google has blocked people from bidding on trademarks and keyword triggers in many foreign countries.  In the United States, it simply blocks the use of the trademark term in the header of the ad text itself. 

Now, Eric Goldman reports in his Technology and Marketing Blog that Google has liberalized its trademark policy in 190 countries to conform with the policies in the US, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.  Google will no longer block the sales of trademarked keywords. Notorious litigation hot-spot France remains on the list of places where Google will block trademarked keyword sales.

For more information on trademark infringement and keyword advertising, check out these links:

• Keyword Advertising & Trademark Infringment
• Online Trademark Infringement: The Unauthorized Use of Trademarks as Keywords for Online Advertisement
• Google Adwords Campaigns Can Support Trademark Infringement Litigation