The European Court of Justice has ruled in Google’s favor with regards to a case Louis Vuitton brought against the search giant.  According to the ECJ, Google did not violate trademark law by allowing advertisers to bid on keywords trademarked by other companies.

The ECJ decided that this practice is fine so long as advertisers’ identities are clear.  Also, the organization indicated that trademark holders should direct complaints about such things at advertisers, not Google.  All of which helps establish AdWords as an acceptable business model in the European Union’s 27 member states.

Dr. Harjinder S. Obhi, Google’s Senior Litigation Counsel in EMEA region, wrote in response on the Official Google Blog, "We believe that user interest is best served by maximizing the choice of keywords, ensuring relevant and informative advertising for a wide variety of different contexts."

Obhi then continued, "For instance, if a user is searching for information about a particular car, he or she will want more than just that car’s website.  They might be looking for different dealers that sell that car, second hand cars, reviews about the car or looking for information about other cars in the same category."

Unfortunately for Google, its stock is down a bit this morning in the wake of the ruling, but that’s more likely due to the mess in China.