The point of this post is to discuss the view held by Interflora and others about whether or not they should be protected when someone searches for their brand on Google/PPC. I disagree with that but uphold the right for protection when a competitor tries to pass off.

I’ve read this and the Econsultancy post which sums it up as the following. Surely this means you can still bid on competitor’s trademarks?

From Econsultancy:
Competitors who do bid on trademarks need to be very, very careful about the text used in ads.

There are three things you must not do, under any circumstances…

1. Ads must not cause reputational damage to the owner of the trademark, nor to the trademark itself. M&S was wise not to use the ad text: “Interflora sucks. Buy your flowers at M&S.”

2. Ads must not make it difficult for internet users to determine who is selling the advertised goods or services. If M&S had implied that it was part of the Interflora network then it would have been in trouble.

3. Ads must not take “unfair advantage of the distinctive character or repute of that trademark”, nor should they damage or dilute the character or repute (for example by turning the trademark into a generic term).

http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8040-brand-bidding-on-adwords-is-ok-rules-eu-in-interflora-vs-m-s-case

Correct me if I’m wrong…

MM

If you read the judgement, Interflora are essentially celebrating that it’s not a completely closed door (though it is only very slightly ajar).

I couldn’t find a link to the full judgement, so have placed one here: http://bit.ly/oldlnz

dan