As an advertiser, you are responsible for ensuring that your use of keywords and ad content, including trademarks and logos, does not infringe or violate the intellectual property rights of others.
Microsoft appreciates the importance of trademarks and takes allegations of trademark infringement seriously. Microsoft prohibits infringement of trademarks and other intellectual property by advertisers. Advertisers are responsible for ensuring that their ads do not violate the trademark or other intellectual property rights of others. If a trademark owner is concerned that its trademark is being used improperly in ad text on ads served by either Bing or Yahoo! Search, it should first contact the advertiser directly to address the issue. If dissatisfied with the outcome, it may also wish to contact Microsoft by completing the Intellectual Property Complaint Form, and select the option ‘Trademark Misuse in Ad Copy’. Once provided with all required information, Microsoft will investigate the alleged infringement and take appropriate action. See “Investigations” below for more details.
Please note that Microsoft is not a mediator. As such, Microsoft encourages trademark owners to engage directly with advertisers who they believe are misusing their trademarks.
Microsoft will investigate a complaint about trademark infringement in the text of a search ad on Bing and Yahoo! Search after it receives all required information via the Intellectual Property Complaint Form. The investigation is designed to ensure the quality and accuracy of ads on Bing and Yahoo! Search and to help our users avoid confusion.
Please note that Microsoft allows the fair use of trademarks in ad text, such as:
- Use of a trademark by a reseller of authentic goods or services
- Informational websites about goods or services represented by the trademark, such as product reviews
- Ordinary dictionary use of a term
- Comparative advertising, when supported by independent research
The above policies apply to ads targeting the United States and Canada. Other countries’ ad policies may be found at the following links:
Microsoft prohibits the advertising of counterfeit goods on our advertising network. A counterfeit good is one that copies without permission the trademark and/or distinctive features of a product in order to either pass itself off as the genuine product or promote a nearly identical replica or imitation of the original product. Upon receiving a sufficiently detailed complaint containing all required information, Microsoft will investigate and, if appropriate, remove from our network an ad that violates this policy.
If you are a trademark owner and want to submit an allegation regarding the advertising of counterfeit goods, please complete the Intellectual Property Complaint Form, selecting the option ‘Counterfeit Product Advertisements’.
- Counterfeit Policy vs. Trademark Policy: Our counterfeit policy concerns the actual goods promoted on a site, whereas our trademark policy concerns use of the trademark in the ad text itself.
- Counterfeit vs. DMCA/Copyright/Pirated Goods: A counterfeit good mimics trademark brand features rather than copying a product itself (such as music, movies and software).
Please note that information concerning a complaint, including a complainant’s contact information, may be forwarded to the advertiser that is the subject of the complaint.
Advertising that contains content that infringes copyrights or that links to infringing content, or advertising that markets products or services that enable copyright infringement by illegally circumventing copyright protection is prohibited. Microsoft also prohibits the advertising of pirated goods on our advertising network. A pirated good is an unauthorized and complete copy of a copyrighted product, such as a movie, music or software. Upon receiving a sufficiently detailed complaint containing all required information, Microsoft will investigate and, if appropriate, remove from our network an ad that violates this policy.
If you feel that an ad violates this policy, please complete the Intellectual Property Complaint Form, and select the option ‘Copyright Violations’.
Read more about Microsoft's trademark policy change information.
