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June 5, 2008
Google Faces Louis Vuitton Trademark Case in Europe's Highest Court
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), Europe's highest court, will hear a case brought forth by high fashion retailer Louis Vuitton regarding trademark issues associated with Google's Adworsd program. The retailer previously won a case in France over the matter.
Louis Vuitton says that Adwords offers advertisers the ability to bid on terms like "Louis Vuitton fakes" and "Louis Vuitton replicas," but claims that Google does not have the right to offer their trademarked name as part of their search advertising program.
Similar cases brought forth in various states within the U.S. have yielded differing rulings.
No court date has been set and it could take up to a year for the ruling to be decided.
via NYT
Related Reading:
Google Updates Trademark Rules for UK/Ireland Adwords
Court Orders Negative Keywords Used To Block Trademark Terms
Others' Trademark Terms In Meta Tags Illegal: Georgia Court Rules
Posted by Nathania Johnson on June 5, 2008 10:17 AM
Comments
jakma January 2, 2009 7:35 PM
Of course LV has the right to forbid using trademark by Google advertising program. One of the most obvious cases of trademark infringement is the use which suppose or suggest that is authorized by, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owner. If Google advertising say "here's the offer of LV branded products" and LV company doesn't actually offer products through the internet - it is unauthorized use of trademark. And unauthorized use means abuse. Such reaction may seem a little nervous until you realize that LV "is by many considered most abused trademark" as euro-trademark.com says.