Trademarks
Google abides by local trademark laws and requires that Google Ads ads don’t infringe third party trademarks. We recognize that third parties may properly use trademarks in certain situations, such as by resellers to describe products.
If a trademark owner submits a complaint to Google about the use of their trademark in Google Ads ads, we will review it and may enforce certain restrictions on use of the trademark. The following policies apply to trademarks used in text ads on the Search Network, and they are enforced when a trademark owner submits a valid trademark complaint to Google.
If you are a trademark owner concerned with the use of your trademark, please review the policy outlined on this page and see the Help for trademark owners page for more information about how to submit a complaint.
If you are an advertiser and have questions about how this policy may affect your ads, please visit the Trademark help for advertisers page.
Trademarks in ad text
In response to trademark owner complaints, we may restrict the use of trademarks in ad text.
There are specific requirements for resellers, informational sites, and authorized advertisers who want to use trademarks that would otherwise be restricted.
Reseller and informational site policy
Ads may use the trademark in ad text if they meet the following requirements:
Resellers: The ad's landing page is 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 landing page must clearly provide a way to purchase the products or services or display commercial information about them, such as rates or prices.
Informational sites: The primary purpose of the ad's landing page is to provide informative details about products or services corresponding to the trademark.
The following is not allowed under the Reseller and informational site policy:
- Ads referring to the trademark for competitive purposes.
- Ads with landing pages that require users to provide extensive information before displaying commercial information.
- Ads that are unclear as to whether the advertiser is a reseller or informational site.
Authorized advertisers
Advertisers may use the trademark in ad text if the trademark owner has authorized them. If you are a trademark owner and would like to authorize an advertiser, please see the Help for trademark owners page. If you are an advertiser seeking authorization, please follow the instructions on the Trademark help for advertisers page.
Term not used in reference to a trademark
The following types of ads may use the term in ad text:
- Ads using the term descriptively in its ordinary meaning rather than in reference to the trademark.
- Ads referring to goods or services that do not correspond to the trademark.
Ad extensions and other ad formats
For certain ad extensions and formats only, ads may use a trademark in ad text when referring to the trademark to provide additional information about the advertised products or services.
Trademarks as keywords
We don’t investigate or restrict trademarks as keywords.
Trademarks in EU and EFTA policy
For ad campaigns targeting the European Union and European Free Trade Association regions, the policy for trademarks in ad text and keywords applies. However, in response to a valid complaint in these regions, we will conduct a limited investigation as to whether a combination of keyword and ad featuring a trademark is confusing as to the origin of the advertised goods and services. If we find that the combination of keyword and ad is confusing, we will disapprove it.
The following types of ads targeting the EU and EFTA regions may use the trademark as a keyword, provided that the combination of the keyword and ad is not confusing. These are examples, and not an exhaustive list:
- Ads using a term descriptively or generically rather than in reference to the trademark.
- Ads for competing products or services.
- Ads for the sale of products or services, replacement parts, or compatible products or services corresponding to the trademark.
- Ads for sites that provide informative details about products or services corresponding to the trademark.
- For certain ad extensions and formats only: Ads referring to the trademark to provide additional information about the advertised products or services.
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Trademarks in display URLs
As described in the section above, we can investigate and may restrict the use of trademarks in ad text. This process doesn't apply to trademarks in an ad's display URL (the website URL that's shown with the ad).
In response to a complaint about an Expanded text ad, we may restrict a trademark from appearing in the subdomain of an advertiser's display URL. Note that the ad may not be disapproved; instead, no subdomains will appear in the display URL. Trademark owners can contact the advertiser directly if they have any other concerns about display URLs.
Trademarks in Google search results
We don’t investigate the use of trademarks in sites that appear in Google search results.
Trademarks in other types of ads
The Trademarks policy only applies to trademarks in Google Ads text ads on the Search Network. However, Google may remove specific ads on the Google Network in response to trademark owner complaints.
Use of Google's trademarks
See how to report inappropriate use of a Google trademark.