Google and EU Court Ruling on Trademark Law

Courtesy of Scott Stroupe:

Google tells us via its official blog that in Europe it can sell
AdWords that are trademarks to businesses other than the trademark
owners. The European Court of Justice (the highest court in the EU on
matters of EU law) ruled that "Google has not infringed trade mark law
by allowing advertisers to bid for keywords corresponding to their
competitors’ trade marks." "The question before the court was whether
advertisers should be allowed to choose keywords freely when reaching
out to users on the Internet." Link below:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/european-court-of-justice-rules-in.html

But the NY Times expressed a more nuanced interpretation of the ruling:

The EU court was still concerned over source confusion: "Advertisers
'cannot, by using such keywords, arrange for Google to display ads
which do not allow Internet users easily to establish from which
undertaking the goods or services covered by the ad in question
originate." And: "The E.U. court said Google, too, could be held
liable if it were found to have encouraged trademark violations or
counterfeiting." Link below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/technology/24lvmh.html