Interflora and M&S in Google AdWords row

By

Interflora is taking legal action against British retail giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) over allegations that the supermarket chain has bought its brand name as a keyword search on Google AdWords.

Interflora and M&S in Google AdWords row
The florist is accusing M&S of bidding on the word “Interflora” and sponsoring mis-spelt occurrences of the brand name on AdWords to lure customers to its own shop, Flowers Direct.

M&S is said to be “extremely surprised” by Interflora’s decision to sue and claims that such tactics are “industry-wide” and “not unlawful”.

But Interflora will not tolerate abuse of its trademark nor competitors taking advantage of it and infringing its rights, said the firm’s marketing director, Michael Barringer.

“Interflora has been careful to protect its most valuable asset - its brand. This action represents only the beginning of a broader strategy to defend our mark against any infringers,” he said.

Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.
Copyright © 2010 Computing
Tags:

Most Read Articles

Orica to set new workforce systems live in Australia in July

Orica to set new workforce systems live in Australia in July

Lion builds an app to detect its beers on tap in venues

Lion builds an app to detect its beers on tap in venues

ANZ Institutional readies go-live for "multi-agent chatbot" amie

ANZ Institutional readies go-live for "multi-agent chatbot" amie

Victoria Police refreshes online reporting

Victoria Police refreshes online reporting

Log In

  |  Forgot your password?