Very often it is the case that, when advertising, one company infringes on another company’s trademark. It can happen anywhere, whether in a newspaper ad, a TV ad, or an online ad, and companies are always keeping a wary eye out for others infringing on their trademark. I am not an expert on trademarks, nor an attorney… but…
If you need a Los Angeles Google Ads expert witness, I can help you. If you need a San Francisco Google Ads expert witness, I can help you. In fact, it doesn’t matter where you or, nor where I am. It’s a digital, 24/7 world nowadays, and that goes especially for Google Ads.
When one says that it is easy to do, a couple of illustrations from the UK may help to explain it. The UK’s largest chain of opticians, called Specsavers, has been advertising for years using the expression “Should’ve gone to Specsavers”. In 2016, they managed to trademark the words “Should’ve” and “Shouldve”.
That means that anyone using those words in their advertising would infringe that trademark. But how would you know? So, for example, Mercedes might produce an ad along the lines of “Should’ve got the new Mercedes” without ever knowing that it was an infringement.
Similarly, in the UK in 2003, Carling lager managed to trademark the word “Probably” which they used in their ads as “Probably the best lager in the world”. Granted, they only managed to trademark it in regard to beers and lagers. Ouch. Now, in either case, I’m not opining as to what’s a trademark and what’s not; I’m not an attorney. But – should you need a technical expert to see who stepped on whose toes (in terms of keywords and ads), I’m your man. I’m your Google Ads expert witness.
Even A Color Could Be An Infringement
In some cases, the look and feel of a product can be an infringement if it can cause confusion. Even the color of something could be an infringement if a company has a well-known product.
You can see why advertising can be fraught with danger. Companies today are highly protective of their intellectual property and won’t hesitate to take action if they think a competitor is using any words, slogans, or phrases that infringe on their trademark.
This can be very expensive. You can spend a huge amount of money on an advertising campaign only to receive a “cease and desist” letter from a lawyer days after launch. Certainly, it is true that many companies may have a legitimate claim, but others overstep the mark in order to try to control the marketplace. The problem here is that it may be cheaper to scrap the advertising campaign, rather than fight the claim, even if you are not infringing on another’s trademark.
As a Los Angeles Google Ads expert witness or a San Francisco Google Ads expert witness, know a lot about Google Ads, and I can help you whether you are launching a claim for infringement yourself or whether you are defending a claim. Either way, when you have your day in court, you want a Google Ads expert witness who understands Google Ads and can present evidence on your side. I’ll get into the facts, and I can explain to a judge and/or jury how Google Ads work and how keywords work as triggers and in ad text.
