• Reuters, Friday, May 15, 2009 1:15 PM

Google is lifting restrictions on the use of trademarked terms in the U.S., a move that Reuters says could increase friction between the Web giant and brand owners. Starting next month, the new policy will allow businesses to place trademarked terms directly in the copy of text ads that run in the U.S. Google says the move will improve the quality of its ads.

Of course, the move also comes at a time when advertisers are bidding less money for individual search terms. By letting advertisers place brand names in text ads, Google is hoping that advertisers will increase their bids in its real-time keyword auctions.

Up until now, Google had forbidden companies from placing trademarked terms in their ad copy unless the owners had given them explicit permission to do so. In its blog post announcing the change, Google said that that policy was like a supermarket promotion in a Sunday newspaper that only listed generic products like 'discount cola' instead of naming the products by name.

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