A senior judge at the European Court of Justice has commented in an ongoing row between Google and brand names, such as Louis Vuitton.
The Advocate General has said that, in his legal opinion, Google has not infringed trademark rights by allowing advertisers to buy keywords.
Brand owners argue that the system is infringing trademarks by allowing firms to piggyback on their brands.
The legal opinion will be seen as at least a partial victory for Google.
The long-running legal dispute will not be ruled on officially until early next year, although this non-binding legal opinion is likely to carry a good deal of weight.
Three brand owners, including LVMH, the firm behind the Louis Vuitton brand, are challenging Google in the French courts and the European Court of Justice has been asked to rule on the issue.
The ruling concerns so-called sponsored links, the section which appears to the right of the main search page, is where advertisers who have bought keywords appear. It creates the majority of its income through sales of these links.
This will be an interesting case to follow in the next few months.
The Advocate General has said that, in his legal opinion, Google has not infringed trademark rights by allowing advertisers to buy keywords.
Brand owners argue that the system is infringing trademarks by allowing firms to piggyback on their brands.
The legal opinion will be seen as at least a partial victory for Google.
The long-running legal dispute will not be ruled on officially until early next year, although this non-binding legal opinion is likely to carry a good deal of weight.
Three brand owners, including LVMH, the firm behind the Louis Vuitton brand, are challenging Google in the French courts and the European Court of Justice has been asked to rule on the issue.
The ruling concerns so-called sponsored links, the section which appears to the right of the main search page, is where advertisers who have bought keywords appear. It creates the majority of its income through sales of these links.
This will be an interesting case to follow in the next few months.
