A WebmasterWorld member complains that his company, which has been in use for over 10 years, is not able to make its own Google AdWords ads because part of the name is a trademark violation. Is it worth pursuing further or is this individual out of luck?
Most forum members may have tried to beat the system and have had no success. According to many, because someone else got their first, it's not arguable. In fact, "similar rules apply in most areas of commercial activity."
But again, this is a 10+ year old business. And the name is a pretty common name. One forum member says that the trademark can be newer than 10 years old, and it may still be debated -- if it's worth the hassle.
On the other hand, if you want to try something else, you can see about getting approval from the trademark owner.
What would you do? Would you let it go without a fight?
Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.
This post was prewritten and scheduled for publication on October 1st.
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Tamar Weinberg in Google AdWords at October 1, 2008 8:18 AM
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The guy should definitely get some legal advice - I don't think you can trademark a surname, of itself, in the UK and, if it is "common" as stated it certainly would not pass the requirement to be "distinctive" to a specific product or service. Sounds like G have got this one wrong.
Posted by Tony at October 1, 2008 10:15