IPA advising members to be cautious about brand bidding

by Patrick Altoft on March 30, 2011 / no responses

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising is advising members to exercise caution before carrying out competitor brand & trademark bidding on search engines.

The statement comes after the Interflora vs Marks & Spencers case earlier this week.

Advertisers and their agencies are advised to exercise caution before purchasing and using competitors’ trademarks as advertising key words via internet search engines. This follows a recommendation that was made by the Advocate General to the European Court of Justice last week in the Interflora v Marks & Spencer case, which details two ways in which use of a trade mark as a key word by an advertiser, may constitute trade mark infringement.

This shows just how seriously people are taking the opinion. The future of brand bidding could be limited.

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Patrick Altoft is Director of Search at Branded3, a Leeds SEO & Digital Agency specialising in SEO, Web Design, Development & Social Media.