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Message: <blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 6189614" data-attributes="member: 463">From your link:7. Can I use someone else's trademark in online advertising without the trademark owner's permission? In certain circumstances, yes. Following are examples of fair use. Nominative Use Nominative use of a mark occurs when one person uses another’s mark to refer to the mark owner or its goods or services. In the United States, if you are using the mark in truthful, comparative advertising or in a way that truthfully identifies the products or services in a manner that does not mislead or confuse consumers as to the mark owner’s affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement of your products or services and that does not use more of the mark than necessary, generally you may use the mark in online advertising without the mark owner’s permission. Nominative use of another’s mark often occurs in comparative advertising, but it may also occur when a distributor or retailer indicates what goods it offers for sale. •In Tiffany Inc. v. eBay, Inc., 576 F. Supp. 2d 463 (S.D.N.Y. 2008), eBay’s use of Tiffany’s mark in an online advertisement constituted protected nominative fair use when new and used Tiffany products were in fact available for sale on eBay’s site. •Designer Skin, LLC v. S & L Vitamins, Inc., 560 F. Supp. 2d 811 (D. Ariz. 2008) (Trademark law does not prevent one who trades in a branded good from accurately describing it by the branded name so long as confusion is not created by implying an affiliation with the trademark owner. This is true even when the trademark is used in keyword advertising or metatags.). Descriptive Use/Non-trademark Use Classic fair use occurs when someone uses a term that someone else claims as a mark in a descriptive sense rather than as a trademark. In the United States, it is permissible to use a descriptive term in good faith in its primary, descriptive sense rather than as a trademark. If a word is used in a non-trademark way and it does not cause confusion, such use is permissible. •Playboy Enterprises Inc. v. Welles, 47 U.S.P.Q.2d 1186 (S.D. Cal.) (the term “Playmate of the Year 1981” was descriptive and fairly used to describe owner of website), aff’d without opinion, 162 F.3d 1169 (9th Cir. 1998)). Later proceedings: Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Welles, 279 F.3d 796 (9th Cir. 2002) (affirming summary dismissal of infringement claims). •Brookfield Communications, Inc. v. West Coast Entertainment Corp., 174 F.3d 1036, 1065-66 (9th Cir. 1999) (non-trademark use of “movie buff” in metatags to refer to movie devotee or motion picture enthusiast is permissible, but trademark use of “MovieBuff” is not). •Place des Tendances SAS v. Promod SAS (Paris Court of First Instance Oct. 1, 2010) (use of “Place des Styles” as a domain name was not an infringement of the trademark PLACE DES TENDANCES, covering clothing goods, as it solely designated a website to sell clothing goods presented under another trademark). Supports what I said.</blockquote>

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