The impressive growth of online shopping has had a significant impact on firms’ strategies and customer behavior, bringing to the fore new forms of trademark exploitation that may affect competition. A prominent role is played by keyword advertising services provided by internet search engines. Keyword advertising systems have been the subject of several litigations with regard to the legality of the use of keywords which correspond to trademarks, since trademark holders complain that the essential functions of trademarks might be detrimentally affected. However, given the importance of search engines for attracting customers to the websites of retailers and competitors, online advertising restrictions also raise anticompetitive concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, the E-commerce Sector Inquiry carried out by the European Commission reported that some retailers are limited in their ability to use or bid on the trademarks of certain manufacturers in order to get a preferential listing on search engines’ paid referencing service or are only allowed to bid on certain positions. Furthermore, the UK Competition and Markets Authority encountered brand-bidding restrictions in the markets for broadband, credit cards, energy, flights and home insurance, while the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets analyzed the hotel sector. Moreover, in the US, the Federal Trade Commission has ruled that the largest online retailer of contact lenses unlawfully entered into a web of anticompetitive agreements with rivals, preventing them from bidding for search engine result advertisements that would inform consumers that identical products were available at lower prices. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the economic rationales and legal implications of keyword advertising in order to strike a proper balance between trademark protection and freedom of competition.

中文翻译：

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通过关键字广告竞争

在线购物的惊人增长对公司的策略和客户行为产生了重大影响，使可能会影响竞争的新型商标开发形式脱颖而出。互联网搜索引擎提供的关键字广告服务发挥了重要作用。在使用与商标相对应的关键字的合法性方面，关键字广告系统一直是数项诉讼的主题，因为商标持有人抱怨商标的基本功能可能受到不利影响。但是，鉴于搜索引擎对于吸引客户访问零售商和竞争对手网站的重要性，在线广告限制也引起了大西洋两岸的反竞争担忧。确实，欧盟委员会进行的电子商务部门调查显示，某些零售商使用或竞标某些制造商的商标的能力受到限制，以便在搜索引擎的付费参考服务中获得优惠清单，或者仅允许竞标某些职位。此外，英国竞争与市场管理局在宽带，信用卡，能源，航班和家庭保险市场遇到了品牌竞标限制，而荷兰消费者与市场管理局对酒店业进行了分析。此外，在美国，联邦贸易委员会（Federal Trade Commission）裁定，最大的隐形眼镜在线零售商与竞争对手建立了反竞争协议网络，阻止他们竞标搜索引擎结果广告，该广告将告知消费者可以以较低的价格获得相同的产品。本文的目的是阐明关键字广告的经济原理和法律含义，以便在商标保护和竞争自由之间取得适当的平衡。