Comments on: PPC, Trademark Laws, and Copyright Laws: How to Play Fair and Still Win

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:11:51 +0000

Hello Amy:
If you can’t bid on the term, then you won’t be able to use the term within your ad text. Especially if the competitor’s name is copyrighted/trademarked. If you are selling this item, then you may need specific permission from the company to use their name in your ads.

By: amy

amy — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:56:09 +0000

Would you please clarify what “NOT permitted to bid on nor utilize trademarked brand name keywords such as Acai Patch” mean?

I understand that I am not allowed Acai Patch in keywords, but can I used “Acai Patch” in a description line, in an adtext?

thanks,
amy

By: Trademarks and Online Marketing: What's Acceptable? at iElectrify.com

Trademarks and Online Marketing: What's Acceptable? at iElectrify.com — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:14:16 +0000

[...] Using Trademarks in PPC Advertising – PPC Hero [...]

By: silicon loop

silicon loop — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:39:18 +0000

Good tips. Hopefully all the legal issues will get sorted out eventually and it won’t be a gray area any longer.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:08:20 +0000

Michael. Yes, that is a complicated keyword, ad text tale. Good thoughts and thank you for your comments.

By: michaelportent

michaelportent — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:41:27 +0000

Actually, the problem I’ve been having is a little less shady than bidding on a competitor’s keywords. I have a client that had reviews in a certain popular magazine (I won’t name names here…), but my ads were simply:

{KeyWord: My Product}
As seen in Popular Magazine.
25% Off Sale – Buy Now Online!
http://www.myproduct.com

I found out that the magazine was held by a larger conglomerate that has been making complaints to Google recently. I’m in the process of trying to get them (the company, not Google) to let me use it anyway.

Moral of the story, be a little more careful about Trademark terms, even in circumstances where your particular usage might not trigger a complaint. New Trademarks are being added all the time.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:24:53 +0000

Michael:
If you’ve long-standing keywords are being rejected, more specifically the ad text, then something may have changed that is out of your control. Your competitor may have filed a complaint with Google; Google may have simply tightened their editorial guideline on this keyword. Do you use the keyword in your ad text? If that is getting you ad rejected, you may try no using the trademarked term directly within the text. You want to maintain a level relevancy but this might get your ad through the editorial review.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:20:46 +0000

Hi Simon:

If you offer Volvo replacement parts, and you send this ad (hypothetically) to a page within your site that offers Volvo replacement parts, then your ad should pass editorial guidelines. You are not making a direct comparison to another provider of Volvo parts, this ad just asks the user if they are tired of paying high prices for parts. You don’t say, “Our parts are cheaper than Brand X’s parts.” That would be questionable. For quality score and relevancy sake, if you are advertising for specific products, you should send your PPC ads directly to that product’s page. This will help with quality score and overall conversions as users will not have to search your site for they are looking for; you’ll take them straight there.
Thanks for reading!

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:01:39 +0000

So let’s say I bid on “Volvo C70″ keyword

and my PPC ad copy goes like this

volvo c70 replacement parts
tired of paying high dollars for volvo parts ?
try our kia, it’s much cheaper !
http://www.kia.com

This is a totaly fictional ad but my problem is that I would use their Brand to compare it to another service but this would not make their brand look so good. Would this be ok ?

Also does the keyword I used “volvo c70″ has to be on the first page of the landing page or it can be on the second page. I think cramping all of “volvo’s” car series on my main page could be considered spamming ?

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:58:12 +0000

I think Google (and everyone else) are still very sensitive to branded terms. Heck, we are currently seeking approval from Google for our client to bid on their own name. However, we have other clients that have robust competitor campaigns that don’t currently have any issues. I think it’s a case-by-case process.