Adwords Liability Shifts From Google To Advertisers After ECJ Ruling

摘要

Google's use of its AdWords tool cannot in itself amount to trade mark infringement. However, Google and other search engine providers will still be required to act ex-peditiously to remove advertisements that infringe thirdparty trade marks as soon as they become aware of them. In contrast, advertisers that purchase trade marks as keywords through AdWords or similar tools may be liable for trade mark infringement where the resulting advertisements do not easily enable internet users to ascertain whether the goods or services covered by the advertisements originate from the trade mark owner or unconnected third parties. These were the conclusions of the European Court of Justice in Google and ors v Louis Vuit-ton and ors following a reference to the Court by the French Cour de Cassation (Joined cases C-236/08 to C-238/08, 23 March 2010).