|
US Federal
Judge Brinkema ruled in Google's and affiliate marketers favor on
December 15, 2004 - it "is" OK to
bid on trademarked terms, like company names, brand names, etc.
The giant
insurance company Geico sued Google for allowing competing
advertisers to dilute their brand on Google Adwords, but Judge
Brinkema said "There is no evidence that this activity alone causes
confusion."
Bottom line for
affiliates: Affiliate marketers can bid on trademarked names. Now Geico is
understandably unhappy with the fact that when people search for "Geico
Insurance," other insurance company ads show up on the right side.
There's an
easy solution for Geico, or you, or any other advertiser who wants
to prevent this from happening. Make sure your website turns
visitors into dollars and then launch an affiliate program.
See, if Geico had
an affiliate program, they'd have dozens of affiliates bidding on "Geico"
and they would literally crowd out the rival advertisers. Many
smart advertisers already do this. If
you currently have an affiliate program and don’t allow affiliates
to bid on your trademark terms, you are opening the door, for your
competitors to capitalize on your fatal mistake.
When people type
in "Geico Insurance" they are a LOT more likely to click on an ad
that represents Geico than anything else. The rival ads get a lower
click thru rate and will almost entirely vanish.
Your next
objection, of course, is going to be "Hey wait a minute, I spent all
this money building my brand, why should I share the money with
affiliates now?
The Smart answer is: Yes, you will share your profits with others,
because those affiliate marketers will advertise in nooks and crannies on the Internet that
you couldn't possibly reach through the usual corporate
command-and-control mentality. What you pay them for searches on
your trademark name(s) will be very small in relation to the traffic
they bring you from "literally" a million other places.
By
allowing affiliate marketers to bid on trademark terms they’ll be able to bid
more per click not just on the trademark terms, but also generic
terms related to your products and/or services.
Therefore our position, in compliance with
federal law, Smart Solution Systems, Inc. has developed this policy for
addressing trademark bidding in PPC (Pay Per Click) search engines such as, but
not limited to Google.com and Overture.com. Our
intent is to comply with applicable laws governing affiliate
marketers bidding on trademarks in PPC, which Judge’s Brinkema
reaffirmed on December 15, 2004.
Per federal Judge’s Brinkema’s ruling on
December 15, 2004 Smart Solution Systems, Inc. will bid on any and all
terms, including trademark terms, that Smart Solution Systems, Inc.
finds useful in generating traffic to our site or any of our
affiliated sites.
If you would like us to quit bidding on your
trademarked terms, here are the two options we currently offer.
Option A:
"I want more business, so please continue to
bid on my trademarked terms, send me the traffic and I will
compensate you via a pre-approved affiliate network or some other
pre-agreed upon
term."
Option B:
"I want to lose business, so please continue
to bid on my trademarked terms and send the traffic to my
competitor’s site(s)."
Smart Solution Systems, Inc. reserves the right
to reject any request made above for any reason at it’s sole
discretion. Smart Solution Systems, Inc. also reserves the right to
change or modify this policy at any time with out notice. For the
most recent copy please send your request to
trademarks@smartsolutionsystems.com Include all of your
affiliate network(s) currently used, domain name(s), legally registered
trademark(s) and variations thereof, purpose for request, and personal contact information.
Smart Solution Systems, Inc. welcomes all
questions and comments. We would like to work with all
advertisers and merchants. At Smart Solution Systems, Inc. discretion,
we may grant an exemption to this
policy on a case by case basis. If an exception is desired, please
send a request to
trademarks@smartsolutionsystems.com Include all of your
affiliate network(s) currently used, domain name(s), legally registered
trademark(s) and variations thereof, purpose for request, and personal contact information.
Effective: December 16, 2004
|
