Promoting your business online: follow the rules

27/10/2010

By Fiona Dott, Solicitor in Corporate & Commercial

In 2009, UK online advertising spend overtook television advertising spend for the first time. Wherever there is explosive growth, the law inevitably follows and online advertising is no exception.

The general rule is that online adverts must not be unfair or misleading. This means that the popular practice of ‘buzz marketing’ (blogging and product recommendations by companies posing as customers) is prohibited.

Behavioural advertising is the use of information about a person’s web-browsing behaviour in order to specifically target that person with relevant advertisements. Advertisers who wish to use targeted advertising should make sure that consent is obtained from the user.

Google’s AdWords advertisement service allows advertisers to buy keywords so that a search against that keyword will result in the display of the keyword owner’s advertisement. Although this is legal, it can trigger claims of trade mark infringement by the owner of the keywords (e.g. the ongoing claim against Marks & Spencer for using the Interflora keyword). Use of business names in website metatags can also lead to trade mark infringement claims.

From March 2011, the Advertising Standards Agency will be able to enforce its codes of practice to online advertising. The codes are broad in effect and will undoubtedly mean that businesses can expect to be challenged more readily in relation to their advertising practice.