Darren Straight's Blog

Just a reminder that on  the 10th of September 2007, Microsoft will update the management of the adCenter trademark policy. Here are some key points that outline these changes.

• The heart of the trademark policy is unchanged. Microsoft adCenter disallows trademark infringement, and forbids advertisers from bidding on or using trademarked terms in a way that constitutes trademark infringement. Advertisers may not bid on a competitor’s trademarked term or use that term in their ad copy. Affiliates and resellers may bid on trademarked terms relevant to the goods, services, or sites that they promote.
• Going forward, Microsoft adCenter will no longer attempt to mediate affiliate compliance by creating lists of trademark-owner approved advertisers who can bid on trademarked keywords. Support teams will be contacting those trademark owners who have provided affiliate documentation previously to explain this policy update and answer questions.
• The policy is being updated in order to provide better information to advertisers, a faster response to trademark owners who submit reports of infringement, and a more efficient process for reviewing and getting ads live. We believe that the minimal changes involved here will benefit all aspects of the advertising chain advertisers, publishers, and consumers.
• Microsoft adCenter will support trademark owners in their efforts to protect their intellectual property. Intellectual property is a complicated topic, and Microsoft adCenter relies on trademark owners to help us understand their intellectual property.
• When Microsoft adCenter receives a report of trademark infringement from a trademark owner (or their designate), we will investigate the report and take appropriate action on offending advertisements and advertisers. In some cases, this will mean that an advertiser will be forbidden from using a keyword in the future, and in other cases, it will mean that a particular ad is removed. If the complaint does not warrant action, no action will be taken.

If a trademark owner believes that their trademark is being misused in Microsoft adCenter, they can submit a report by following the instructions on the Trademark Concern Form page.