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Writer's picturePaolo Casula

Address trademark disapproval

Updated: Sep 11, 2019

Introduction


Trademarks policy can be tricky. In this course, you’ll learn what you can do if your ads get disapproved for a trademark issue and how to seek authorization. The information provided here is intended to serve as a quick reference and should be considered in the context of the full Trademarks’ policy.

What you’ll learn:


  1. How to figure out why your ad was disapproved or approved in a limited capacity

  2. The trademark authorization process and how the Reseller and informational site policy might affect your ads 


 

Joe has a problem

  1. What’s this? It looks like we’ve been notified of a trademark disapproval. How do I fix this?

  2. Hello! I see you’re having some difficulty with your ads. Here’s what you need to know: Google recognizes the importance of trademarks and advertisers are responsible for the keywords and ad content they choose to use.

  3. Okay...what exactly does that mean for me?

  4. Well, from the looks of things, you’re using a trademark in a restricted way.

  5. Oh, I see. I think I know which ad is the problem.

  6. There are a couple ways you can respond to this policy notification. Continue on in the course to learn your options.


 

What does your approval status mean?


You can check the approval status of your ad by navigating to your Google Ads campaign and clicking the Ads tab to view all the ads in that campaign. Your ad can either be Approved, Approved (Limited) or Disapproved. If your ad is Approved, there’s no action needed on your side.


Approved (limited): What’s it mean? Your ad is currently eligible to run in particular countries and is restricted from others.


What you can do:

  • Do nothing and your ad will continue to run in the countries for which it's currently approved.

  • Request authorization from the trademark owner to use the trademark in the countries you desire.

  • Remove the trademark from ad text.


Disapproved: What’s it mean? Your ad was disapproved for using a trademark in a restricted way.

What you can do:


  • Remove the trademark from your ad so it can be re-reviewed and start running.

  • Revise your ad and landing page to comply with the Reseller and informational site policy in certain regions.

  • Request authorization from the trademark owner.

We’ll review how to do each of these options in the following sections.


 

What can you do?


So your ad was disapproved, now what? In the next three sections we’ll review your options to get your ads live.


 

Remove the trademark from your ad


The fastest way to get your ad live is to remove the trademark from your ad. Once you save your ad, it will be re-reviewed and will go live, provided no other policy issues are found.


 

Request trademark authorisation


Another course of action is to reach out to the trademark owner and request their authorization for you to use their trademark. If you know the trademark owner, you can reach out to them directly. If you don’t, here’s what you can do:

  1. You’ll need to get ahold of the trademark owner. Fill out the “3rd Party Authorization Request Form”, linked at the end of this course, to gain access to the trademark owner’s contact information, provided they’ve entered updated information in our system.

  2. Once you’ve found the correct contact information via the form or public records, contact the trademark owner to request authorization to use their trademark. Once they submit the authorization form, our support team should review those submissions within two business days.

  3. Next, our team will authorize your Google Ads account to use the trademark. Once that’s done, you’ll need to re-submit your ads so they can pass through our review process again. Reference the “Fix a disapproved ad” article, linked at the end of this course, for steps to re-submit your ads.


 

See how the Reseller and informational site policy applies to your ads


The Reseller and informational site policy allows you to use trademarked terms without explicit authorisation for advertising in particular countries, provided you meet the requirements outlined below.


Resellers

To qualify as a reseller, you must meet these requirements:


Dedicated landing page: The ad's landing page is primarily dedicated to selling (or clearly facilitating the sale of) the goods or services corresponding to the trademark OR to selling components, replacement parts, or compatible products or services related to the goods or services corresponding to the trademark.


Way to purchase: The landing page must clearly provide a way to purchase the product or services.


Informational sites

To qualify as an informational site, you must meet these requirements:


Dedicated landing page: The primary purpose of the ad's landing page must be to provide information about goods or services corresponding to the trademark.


Information: The page must display informative details about goods or services corresponding to the trademark.


OR


Information: The page must display commercial information (such as rates, prices, or quotes) about the product or services. 


 

Are you concerned about the use of your trademark in ad text?

If you’re a trademark owner, please review the “Help for trademark owners” article, linked at the end of this course, to learn how Google responds to trademark complaints about the use of trademarks in ad text. 


 

Recap


If you experience a trademark disapproval, just remember the three options you have to respond: remove the trademark from your ad, seek authorization, or understand how the Reseller and informational policy may apply to your ads.

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