In 2010, Google earned US$28 billion in advertising revenues. Thus it is no surprise that Google is vigorously defending its AdWords program, the main source of such revenues, in the United States Court of Appeals. In the coming months, the court will issue a decision. The outcome is important for Canadian trademark owners because Google’s trademark use policies in Canada and the U.S. are identical. Also, Microsoft has recently modified its policy to resemble Google’s. Before discussing the appeal, an explanation of the types of unauthorized online use and search engine trademark use policies is in order.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice.