Internet giant Google is now set to win a legal battle in Europe against Louis Vuitton, which is attempting to stop the company from profiting from its trademark name.
An advisor to the highest court in Europe has said the practice of selling keyword phrases that include a trademark phrase to other businesses, such as “Louis Vuitton handbags” is not illegal under existing European law.
This is known as keyword advertising, otherwise known as Google AdWords, and it allows businesses the ability to buy space against users’ search results in the “sponsored links” section.
“Google has not committed a trademark infringement by allowing advertisers to select keywords corresponding to trademarks,” the advisor said.
While the decision is not binding, the advisor’s opinion is followed by the European Court of Justice in about 80% of cases. Later this year the case will return to the court when a full panel of judges will determine the final outcome of the case.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
