In a decision released earlier today, the European Court of Justice held that Google was not liable for the sale of AdWords to a retailer who, in turn, used the trademarked keywords in connection with the sale of counterfeit goods. The decision stemmed from Google’s nearly five-year old appeal of a French decision in favor of Louis Vitton. Pursuant to the Court’s holding, Google is not responsible for investigating the authenticity of a retailer’s goods prior to selling its keywords. Nevertheless, with an eye toward future litigation, the Court did call for more transparency from companies such as Google with respect to the identity of sellers purchasing and using the trademarked keywords.
Read the decision here.