Just as we’ve got used to the idea of using brand names as AdWords it looks like a ruling brought by luxury goods businesses could force Google to go back to the drawing board, according to Withers & Rogers LLP.
In a case brought by luxury goods business, Louis Vuitton, against Google, a French court ruled that Google was guilty of trade mark counterfeiting, unfair competition and misleading advertising. The violations relate to Google allowing third parties to bid on keywords of the brand owners names which then appear prominently in the search engine’s results ; this allegedly allows companies to bid on terms such as ‘Louis Vuitton fakes’. Google has appealed the ruling and the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice.
Fiona McBride, trade mark attorney at Withers & Rogers LLP said:
“This is a highly significant case, which could force Google to change the way it operates its AdWords system in the future. The European Court of Justice will have to decide if this kind of use of a brand name as a keyword for searching is trade mark use and therefore constitutes trade mark infringement.
“Google has won similar cases brought against its AdWords system in England, Ireland and the US, so if the ECJ now rules against them further actions in these countries could follow.”
Additionally a French court ruled on the 4th June that eBay had ‘committed acts of counterfeiting’ by failing to act within their powers to prevent the sale of ‘fake’ Hermes-branded handbags listed on eBay’s French site. The case related to the sale of two counterfeit handbags in 2006 and eBay was ordered to pay damages to Hermes of £16,000.
Since 2006, eBay has changed its practices and has introduced measures to try to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods on its web site. In particular, the site has a policy in place to limit the number of items a single person can sell and to remove goods quickly after a complaint.
Fiona McBride comments:
“While this case was limited in scope, relating to the sale of just two handbags and the fine is relatively minor, the ruling could have far-reaching consequences.
“This ruling means that eBay can no longer claim that it simply acts as a host for transactions between buyers and sellers and this ruling could set a precedent for similar rulings brought against online vendors in the future.”
A similar case was filed against eBay in New York by Tiffany & Co earlier this year and the ruling is awaited. Other cases against eBay are also pending, including a multi-jurisdictional case brought by French beauty products group, L’Oreal, in the UK, Belgium, France and Germany, over the sale of fake cosmetics and fragrances.
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