Game-Changing Google Ads New Trademark Policy Announced -

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Google Ads New Trademark Policy Announced

One of the most popular online advertising platforms, Google Ads, recently made major changes to its trademark policy. These changes will go into effect on July 24, 2023. Advertisers who had trademark complaints were sent an email about the change. It said that the policy would now target specific advertisers and ads instead of all advertisers in the trademark owner’s industry.

Kirk Williams, who works in advertising, went on Twitter to let other advertisers know about the upcoming changes. This was after an email was sent to advertisers who had complaints on file.

The New Trademark Policy

The change in how trademark complaints will be looked into is the most important part of the new Google Ads Trademarks Policy. Google will now focus on specific advertisers and ads that are the subject of new trademark complaints instead of all advertisers in the trademark owner’s industry.

Phased Implementation and Transition

As more trademark complaints are sent in, the old policy system will be replaced by the new one. Any trademark restrictions that were put in place before July 24 will be lifted for most advertisers over the next 12 to 18 months.

Unaffected Policies

Even though the changes to the trademark policy are big, some parts of the old policy will stay the same:

Bidding on Trademarked Keywords: Advertisers can still bid on trademarked keywords in the US and the EU. But they can’t use brands that compete with their own in their ads.
Restrictions in Some EU Countries: In some EU countries, it may still not be possible to advertise on keywords that have been trademarked. But this has been okay in some other countries.

Impact on Advertisers

With the new policy, trademark complaints will only be able to be made about certain advertisers or ads. When Google gets more trademark complaints, it will only look into the advertiser or advertisers that are being looked at. Ginny Marvin, who works with Google Ads, says that the new policy should bring several benefits:

1. Complaints with Specific Advertisers: Advertisers can still file complaints, but the investigation will only look into the advertiser or advertisers mentioned in the complaint. This will cut down on false flags.

2. Anticipated Savings: Under the new policy, trademark owners won’t have to flag every new account that uses their brand. This should save them time and effort.

Potential Challenges and Considerations

The new policy may have the most effect on well-known and large businesses, making them more likely to be the subject of trademark complaints. People who have filed trademark complaints in the past need to keep an eye out for possible new defendants over the next 12 to 18 months.

Concerning the use of common trademark phrases in ads, like “iPhone” or “iPad,” this is still up for debate. If a trademark owner doesn’t file a complaint, you might still be able to use these phrases.

Recent changes to Google Ads’ trademark policy are meant to make it easier to look into trademark complaints. By focusing on certain advertisers and ads, the new policy should make it easier for advertisers and trademark owners to run their businesses and save them money. But marketers need to keep an eye out and make sure they follow the updated policy to avoid problems in the changing world of online advertising.