google Adwords question

I discovered that one of our competitors is using our products name as a keyword. Does anyone know if this is accepted by google? It's as if I used Norton as keyword to get antivirus traffic. thank you

Yes they can do that. Sometimes the suggested keywords include company names.

if they are not selling your product you could have a case - if the product name is your registered trademark

If i am a dealer selling microsoft's window and advertise on google for the keyword phrase ' Buy Windows XP' , then i dont think BILL GATES can sue me.
Its all accepted.

So Jorge, you also start advertising for the same keywords.
Thats the best you can do, i guess.

Gaurav.

If he is using your products as keywords then indirectly its good for you coz he'll buy from you and then sell if you are the sole manufacturer.

Gaurav.:-D

There have been a few examples where google has taken action against this kind of thing (under the threat of lawsuits). Dell, and (I think quite recently) EBay come to mind... though they all involved the use of trademarks. if your name is not a trademark you might have a hard time getting them to take any action.

Basically if they are a competitor and are just trying to steal your traffic (don't actually sell any of your products etc.) then it's worth mentioning it to google (especially if you spend more than them *grin*).

Technically it is fraudulent business practices, and is an offence under the Adwords Terms and Conditions (not to mention federal and/or state law)

The other thing I would do is send a strongly worded email to the company involved telling them that they are stealing your traffic and unless they stop immediately you will report them to google (even though you're doing that anyway). Point out that they are conducting fraudulent business practices and under the terms and conditions of google adwords, "Violation of these policies may result in immediate termination of this Agreement without notice, and may subject you to state and federal penalties and other legal consequences. "

Whether that gets their attention or not is another thing, but it is certainly worth trying... you're also not committing yourself to taking further legal action - only that you will report them to google and expect them to take action as per their terms and conditions. Worth a try.

thanks guys. Yes, they do not sell our products. They are selling a similar product that competes directly with ours. I don't mind a fair fight for market but I agree with toasted that since it is our registered trademark they cannot use it. I will contact these people.:-D

If that is the case they are only using your company name to steal your chickens.