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Search Trademark Infringement Debate Reopened

At the most recent Search Engine Strategies conference in New York, legal experts gathered to discuss trademark infringement and search, specifically the controversial practice of purchasing competitors' trademarks, which marketers can still do with Google, but no longer with Yahoo. The age-old discussion point has come to the fore once again following recent activity by Mazda, which has been purchasing " Pontiac" en masse ever since the competing auto company told consumers to Google "Pontiac" at the end of its TV commercials. Experts at the search show seemed to agree that use of trademarks in search is okay, as long as it's truthful. Mazda's use of "Pontiac" is fine, for example, but each case should be examined on an individual basis. In publishing content containing information about a competitor, publishers have to be much more careful. You can't copy and paste content from other sites, or write anything defamatory about a competing brand, but you can publish truthful facts based on studies.

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