Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Louis Vuitton is suing Google -How Will this affect you?

Louis Vuitton is suing Google for trademark infringement which could cause this popular search engine to rethink how it sells advertising.

The problem, according to Louis Vuitton, is Googles advertisers, who have paid to be associated with certain keywords. Some of these keywords bring up another company who is infringing on their trademark. For example, Louis Vuitton is a registered trademark for a high status handbag. If you type in the keyword for Louis Vuitton, you will also get Louis Vuitton replicas, fake Louis Vuittons etc. and this company has taken it all the way to the french courts to protect their product.

What will be the impact? How can Googles system possibly keep up with the specific criteria for trademarked searches? I have read that Google will no longer be accepting paid advertising for any advertisers that carry the word fake or replica in their ad. Meanwhile, Google is appealing the decision so this could drag out in the courts for years.

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