Louis Vuitton, Others Battle Google In Europe Over Keyword Name Use

It's bad enough when luxury brand knock-offs appear on the street in the real world – but apparently, it's just as much of a problem in the digital world. Louis Vuitton and other companies are trying to prevent the unauthorized use of their trademarks as keywords in search ads on Google.

The problem is a double whammy for companies like LVMH, owner of the Louis Vuitton brand. Not only does another company trade on a luxury brand's name and get consumers to click on a link to counterfeit products, but also the owner of the luxury brand ends up paying more to use its own brand name on Google. That's because the cost per click rises as others buy the brand names as keywords.Continue reading...