Brands claim victory from Google blow
I think it’s too clear-cut to say the ruling is “a blow for brands” (MW 25 March). Instead I expect that parties reacting to this news will fall into three distinct camps; those who see it as a threat to their business model, those who will not feel any impact at all and those who see it as an opportunity.
Though established brands may be disgruntled, challenger brands will be pleased that they have another route to market; bidding on keywords trademarked by their rivals is a great way to challenge better known competitors.
At the moment I don’t expect too much will change off the back of this ruling, however I’m intrigued to see how the issue will pan out in the long term. It will be particularly interesting to observe how it will sit alongside the newly extended CAP code.
I’m sure there will come a time when people use the code to complain about keyword bidding, but as Google is helping to fund the regulation of the code, it may find itself regulating against the very practices it introduced.
Andrew Burgess, Eulogy
