Trademarks - Advertising Policies Help (original) (raw)
Google provides translated versions of the Advertising Policies Help Center, though they're not meant to change the content of the policies. The English version is the official language used to enforce Google Ads policies. To view this article in a different language, use the language dropdown at the bottom of the page.
Google Ads and Display & Video 360 abide by local trademark laws and protects the rights of trademark owners, so we don’t allow ads that infringe trademark rights. Advertisers may use trademarks that belong to others in certain situations as described below, like when identifying a product for sale. If a trademark owner submits a complaint to Google about the use of their trademark in Google Ads and Display & Video 360 ads, we’ll review it and may restrict use of the trademark.
Violations of this policy will not lead to immediate account suspension without prior warning. A warning will be issued at least 7 days prior to any suspension of your account. Learn more about suspended accounts.
In this article
Trademarks review criteria
When Google reviews a trademark owner complaint, all of the criteria below are considered to determine whether to restrict use of the trademark in ads.
Where the trademark is used in the ad
The trademark must be used in the ad, not only on the ad’s landing page.
Google Ads and Display & Video 360 will not restrict:
- Using trademarks as keywords
- Using trademarks in the second-level domain of the ad’s display URL
How the trademark is used
Google Ads and Display & Video 360 will restrict:
- Using trademarks in an ad from a direct competitor
- Ads that use the trademark in a confusing, deceptive, or misleading way
Google Ads and Display & Video 360 will not restrict:
- Landing pages of the ad using the trademark that are primarily dedicated to selling or clearly facilitating the sale of products or services, components, replacement parts, or compatible products or services corresponding to the trademark
- The ad’s landing page must clearly provide a way to purchase the products or services and display commercial information about them, such as rates or prices.
- The ad and landing page must be clear as to whether the advertiser is a reseller or informational site.
- Ads using the trademark where the primary purpose of the landing page is to provide informative details about products or services corresponding to the trademark, or an index of search results related to the trademark
- Ads that use the trademark descriptively in its ordinary meaning
Submit a trademark complaint
If you’re a trademark owner and would like to submit a trademark complaint, learn more about how to Report Content On Google. Google will only accept complaints against specific advertisers identified on the basis of their URL(s) within the countries and industries in which trademark owners have demonstrated trademark rights.
If Google reviews a complaint and decides to restrict the use of the trademark in an ad, the restrictions will generally be applied on an ongoing basis in any ads that use the same second-level domain in their final URL.
Appeal a Trademarks policy restriction
If you believe your ads are incorrectly restricted under this policy, you can submit an appeal by following the instructions in the notifications associated with those restrictions in the policy rollover. If you have ads that don’t violate the policy, submit an appeal to lift the restrictions on other ads in your account. Keep in mind that if you create new ads that violate the policy after submitting an appeal, any restrictions will generally be maintained regardless of any changes you make to your ads or account in the future.
If you have questions after carefully reviewing this policy page, use the Google Ads Trademark Troubleshooter to help find the right resources.
Was this helpful?
How can we improve it?
false