Big brands gear up for 'keyword' court cases

Last week, Interflora began a European legal challenge against Marks & Spencer, which is paying Google to promote its own flower business every time someone searches for Interflora.

Specialist lawyers claim that a win for Interflora will tempt other big brands to sue rivals bidding on trademarked keywords within Google’s AdWords service.

‘If Interflora wins, it will open the floodgates to other well-known brands looking to take similar action,’ said Simon Chapman, partner, media, brands and technology, at law firm Lewis Silkin. ‘This kind of litigation is expensive, but nothing compared with the loss of earnings for some.’

Mark Owen, head of intellectual property at Harbottle & Lewis, said he was advising several brands awaiting the outcome of the Interflora case.

Conversely, Theo Savvides, intellectual property partner at Osborne Clarke, said a ruling by the European Court of Justice in favour of M&S would encourage the adoption of piggybacking.

‘Bidding on the trademarked terms of rivals could become as common as bidding tactically on normal words,’ he added.

In May 2008, Google changed its trademark policy in the UK to allow advertisers to bid on trademarked terms, prompting lawsuits from brands, including Teletext Holidays, against rivals and the search engine itself.

After Louis Vuitton sued Google, the European Court ruled in favour of the search engine in April, but called for more transparency in the way paid-for results are displayed.

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk