ARTICLE · 20 DECEMBER 2011

CJEU Establishes Framework For Use Of Trade Marks In Keyword Advertising

NautaDutilh

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Keyword advertising – the best-known example of which is Google AdWords – is a new and promising way of promoting a business.

NetherlandsIntellectual Property

Philippe Péters

Pierre-Yves Thoumsin

Brussels to the Point December

Keyword advertising – the best-known example of which is Google AdWords – is a new and promising way of promoting a business.

Advertisers can buy keywords, which trigger the display of ads when a search is made using these words. The ads appear in separate areas around the "natural search results", which are ranked according to relevancy. However, this new form of advertising has raised concerns amongst brand owners whose trade marks are used as keywords to trigger the ads of competitors or counterfeiters.

Over the past few months, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has laid down a legal framework for the use of trade marks as keywords.

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