The Dutch case centered around the admissibility of the use of the Adword TEMPUR by competitor Energy+. TEMPUR sells special matrices and pillows made of a particular Styrofoam. Energy+ sells these type of matrices as well and tried to lead traffic to her website by using TEMPUR as a metatag on some of her web pages, as well as using TEMPUR as an Adword. The court decided the case on the basis of comparative advertising. Since Energy+’s ads did not adhere to the strict European regulations on comparative advertising, Energy+ was acting unlawfully. Comparative advertising is only allowed when the products involved (in this case TEMPUR and Energy+) are directly and clearly compared. Of course, that cannot be the case in a Google advertisement. Energy+ was prohibited to further make use of the Adword TEMPUR and was ordered to pay damages of € 9,500.-
internet-online-branding