As a result of some questions asked at SMX two weeks ago, the Microsoft adCenter team has clarified its position on trademarks. In a blog post on the adCenter blog, the adCenter team writes:
With this policy advertisers are required to agree that they will not bid on keywords, or use in the text of their advertisements, any word whose use would infringe on the trademark of any third party, or would otherwise be unlawful or in violation of the rights of any third party.
Exceptions to the rule apply, however, if you are authorized to resell the trademarked product, you are providing information about the trademarked product, and you are using any trademarked term in its ordinary dictionary form and are not selling the product (e.g. apples the fruit vs. Apple Computer).
Additionally, the blog post adds that there are three types of dynamic text parameters that can be used in any adCenter campaign:
| Use this type of dynamic text | To |
| Keyword {keyword} | Customize your ad based on search queries |
| Destination URL {param1} | Change the destination URL based on search queries |
| Placeholder {param2} {param3} | Revise your ads using placeholders |
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
