• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, April 13, 2007

Google has added its voice to those opposing the new Utah law that attempts to regulate keyword bidding.

"This law hurts consumers, violates free speech, and is inconsistent with both established U.S. trademark law and our capitalist system," a Google spokesman told The Salt Lake Tribune in an e-mail.

Of course, it's not surprising that Google opposes the law, which would ban companies from bidding to use rivals' names as triggers for ads. But it is surprising that Google didn't go on record until this week, after the law attracted national press attention.

One can only wonder where the company that prides itself on organizing and retrieving information was this March, when the Utah legislature unanimously passed the law, the Trademark Protection Act. Utah Governor Jon Huntsman's staffers told the Associated Press that no one objected to the law before he signed it.

To be fair to Google, however, the law received little, if any, press attention before it was passed. What's more, other search engines -- not to mention advocacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation -- also failed to flag the issue while it was percolating in the Utah legislature.

Google and others might well end up challenging the Utah legislation in court, where there's a very good chance the law will be struck down. Meantime, for now it's still set to take effect June 30.