So someone is buying Google adwords based on your domain... What would you do?
 

Quick question:

Let's say you wonder why traffic to your site has slowed down and find out that a competitor has purchased Google Adwords made up of words including your domain name. Now when people use google to search for your domain, your competitor appears in the sponsored link area instead of you.

What would you do?

I would open my car door into theirs as they drove by;-)

Hope I built a better mousetrap.

sue them until their children's children's children were indentured servants forced to humilate themselves in obscure porn niches like fart sniffing for the next 155 years...

:winkwink::1orglaugh

Try to figure out how much they pay for each click, raise my own bid so it's just below theirs, making sure they get taken for a lot of money. And then have a few friends click their ads, again only to make sure it will cost him some pretty money. If it costs more than it returns, he will quit.

I like this idea... !

But what exactly would we be suing them for? Is there any kind of legal precedent on something like this?

Is the term trademarked?

Definately.

I think you can set it right in adwords to not let anyone bid on your marks. There was a thread here about Naughty America stopping affiliates from using the trademarks and people described how to get Google to not approve any ads from trademarked terms.

Precedent? Who needs stinking precedent? This is America, land of the free, home of those patriotic attorneys that made our Constitution!

However, in all seriousness, if it is a trademarked term then you do have some recourse with Google if you report it and file a notice with them.

Yep - If you contact google and let them know that someone is using a trademarked term (you will have to prove ownership of the TM) - they will remove ads and mark the term disapproved for everyone but yourself.

You could try contacting the company as well and simply asking them to shut down the domain name bid. It could happen :)

This. :thumbsup

Plenty of people have been sued for this.

Alot of people do this, been a problem for a long time

Why do companies invest in TM? To protect their brand that they have worked so hard for.
I am speaking from experience here so.........
I would suggest contacting your lawyers and have a C&D written up and distributed (by registered mail) to the competitor infringing on your TM.
In the C&D have your legal representation stipulate that they are required to pay your legal costs for having to send this out and that failure to comply by certain date will result in necessary action in Federal Court where they will be faced with all fee's as well as $ for damages and potential revenue lost.

Be sure to include that TM #.

Then wait for compliance.

If they don't then contact Google and get ready to sue the them for what is rightfully owed to you.

I've never understood why people would search for a .com or whatever instead of just going to that .com

I agree with you, but I've seen alot of people do it. They setup Google (or any other SE) as their home page, and then type in full URL's right into the Search box instead of the address bar to get to where they want to go. Amazing.

But Kwi, you're just a girl! What do you know?

.... just kidding. And thanks! This is a great idea.

M

:thumbsup

Even if the terms are trademarked it's a very difficult case to prove... I'm not really familiar with the specifics, but you have to prove that trademark was used to deliberately to confuse the surfer...

so for example bidding on "2much" keyword, and displaying an ad "Check out these hot cams" wouldn't infringe on the trademark

if on the other hand the ad said:
"Click here for 2much cams " and when clicked it would take the surfer to a competitor then it would probably be infringement... but far from an open and shut case... it would probably cost 5 figures to run a lawsuit like that...

You just reminded me to add your domain to my PPV campaigns.