Can You Legally Bid on Your Competitor's Name With CPC Advertising?

Yes, you can with Google AdWords. But, should you? If you receive a cease and desist letter, you may decide it's not worthwhile, BUT look at this -- a federal court just dismissed a lawsuit against Google over the practice of allowing companies to buy cpc ads that are displayed when people type in the name of a competitor.

Until now, most advertisors may have assumed that while Google wouldn't assume responsibility for policing trademarks, it was still unwise to use them in ad campaigns. However, the language in this news story suggests the Federal court has ruled there IS NO trademark violation.

Have a look at the advertising on the 'monster.com' and 'careerbuilder.com' keywords: monster.com careerbuilder.com Why do they advertise on eachother's trademarks but you don't see scads of other job boards advertising on these searches? Is it because the smaller companies are just afraid of big-league lawyers?