Flower delivery firm Interflora is suing Marks & Spencer and
Flowers Direct in a case that strikes at a change Google made
earlier this year regarding AdWords bidding. Interflora argues
that by bidding on Google’s paid-search AdWords programme for
Interflora, M&S and Flowers Direct are infringing on its
trademark. “This action represents only the beginning of a
broader strategy to defend the Interflora mark against any
infringers,” marketing director Michael Barringer said in a
statement.
In May, Google lifted the ban preventing companies in the UK and
Ireland from buying the right to use another business’s trademark
to trigger their own online advert. A trigger word does not
appear in the ad itself but corresponds to, or
“triggers”, a listing based on the term entered.
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