Bidding on a Competitor’s Trademark in Search Advertising

Bidding on a competitor’s brand name is one of the most contested practices in digital marketing. There is no one-line answer: the assessment turns on where and how the mark is used.

Keyword selection versus ad copy

Using the mark only as a targeting keyword, invisible to the user, carries materially lower risk than putting it in the headline, description or display URL. The latter invites the argument that users cannot tell whose offer they are looking at.

The decisive question is confusion

If the advertisement makes clear who is behind it — only your own brand appears, and it leads to your own site — a confusion claim is weak. If the copy carries the competitor’s mark so that origin becomes unclear, infringement and unfair competition claims strengthen. Where the mark enjoys a reputation, taking unfair advantage of its pull becomes an additional argument.

If your brand is being targeted

• Capture dated screenshots — ads are personalised and change quickly.
• Use the advertising platform’s trademark complaint procedure, which requires a registration.
• Send a cease and desist; many disputes end with the mark being removed from the copy.
• Consider proceedings if it continues.
• Advertise on your own brand terms — often the fastest remedy is commercial rather than legal.

If you are the advertiser

• Keep competitor marks out of headlines, descriptions and display URLs.
• Be able to substantiate any comparative claim you make.
• Audit automated campaign types, where copy can be generated dynamically.

See also our article on resellers and exhaustion, or contact us.

General information only, not legal advice. Platform trademark policies are set by the platforms and change.