AdWords Trademark Complaint Procedure

Scope of Complaint

Trademark owners may submit either a specific or general trademark complaint. A specific complaint means that we will investigate a trademark term(s) in specific advertisements only. The trademark owner is required to provide the exact URLs in question and we will not investigate the trademark in any other advertisements.

A general complaint means that we will investigate the trademark in all relevant advertisements. The trademark owner does not need to provide the specific URLs in question. However, if there are specific advertisers that are authorized to use the trademark(s), the trademark owner is required to provide the corresponding customer ID(s) or Login email(s).

Additionally, please note that our complaint procedure regarding the use of a trademark in ad text and as a keyword may differ depending on the country in which trademark rights exist.

Please see below if you are concerned with:

• Trademark rights in US, UK, Ireland and Canada
• Trademark rights outside US, UK, Ireland and Canada

Trademark rights in US, UK, Ireland and Canada

When we receive a complaint from a trademark owner, we only investigate the use of the trademark in ad text. If the advertiser is using the trademark in ad text, we will require the advertiser to remove the trademark and prevent them from using it in ad text in the future. Please note that we will not disable keywords in response to a trademark complaint. In addition, please note that any such investigation will only affect ads served on or by Google.

If you are a trademark owner (or represent a trademark owner) and have an objection to an advertiser's use of a term corresponding to your trademark in ad text that is consistent with the foregoing, please refer to our complaint procedure.

Trademark rights outside US, UK, Ireland and Canada

When we receive a complaint from a trademark owner, our review is limited to ensuring that the advertisements at issue are not using a term corresponding to the trademarked term in the ad text or as a keyword trigger. If they are, we will require the advertiser to remove the trademarked term from the ad text or keyword list and will prevent the advertiser from using the trademarked term in the future. Please note that any such investigation will only affect ads served on or by Google.

Furthermore, please be aware that we do not take any action in situations where an advertisement is being triggered by non-trademarked terms even though the search query contains a trademarked term. This stems from the fact that Google allows advertisers to use a broad matching system to target their ads. For example, if an advertiser has selected the keyword shoes, that advertiser's ad will appear when a user enters the word "shoes" as a search query, regardless of other search terms that may be used. So, the ad would show if the user entered any of the following search queries: "tennis shoes," "red shoes," or "Nike shoes." This system eliminates the need for the advertiser to specify individually the many different search query combinations that are relevant to their ad.

If you are a trademark owner (or represent a trademark owner) and have an objection to an advertiser's use of a term corresponding to your trademark as a keyword or in ad text that is consistent with the foregoing, please refer to our complaint procedure.

Complaint Procedure

Trademark complaint form

• To submit your complaint online, complete the required fields and select the "Submit" button provided.
• To submit your complaint via mail or fax, please complete the following steps:
  1. Fill in all required fields on our online complaint form.
  2. When finished, select the "Submit" button provided.
  3. Finally, print the email confirmation and send it to one of the following addresses:
     
     Google Inc.
     Attn: Advertising Legal Support Team
     1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
     Mountain View, CA 94043
     
     Or via fax to: 650-649-1774
     Attn: Google Trademark Complaints
     
     Or via email to ads-trademarks@google.com

If you have additional questions, please visit our AdWords Help Center for our FAQ.

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