Google has a won a key case at the European Court of Justice, protecting its Adwords search advertising service. The ECJ ruled that Google has not infringed trademark law by allowing advertisers to bid for keywords corresponding to their competitors' trademarks. Under the Adwords system, advertisers pay Google so that their ads are displayed alongisde search results when users type in certain keywords. The case was referred to the ECJ by a French court, where a number of companies, including luxury goods group LVMH, had filed complaints alleging that Google was violating their trademarks by allowing other companies to bid for keywords based on their brand names. They said the system led to ads for counterfeit goods appearing on Google, based on keyword searches for their brand names. The French court asked the ECJ to rule on whether European law allows trademark owners to prevent Google from selling the right to specify their trademarks as search keywords. Under the ECJ ruling, Google can continue to sell keyword rights to advertisers with no restrictions. Google welcomed the ruling as key to freedom of information and underlined that it works with brand owners to identify and remove ads form counterfeiters. The ECJ also confirmed that European law covering liability of internet hosting services also applies to Google's AdWords advertising system. This means the company could be held liable by a national court if it is found to be aware of infringing ads and had not taken action to withdraw the material. The court upheld the right of brand owners to sue advertisers who buy protected keywords and display ads on the search engine that make it difficult for users to see whether they sell original or fake products.
