Overview

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down a landmark decision in the case of Google France & Others -v- Louis Vuitton Malletier & Others, holding that an internet referencing service provider, such as Google, is not itself liable for trade mark infringement by using trade marks as keywords for sponsored links.

In a decision that will please Google and other providers of referencing services, the ECJ also found that Google was exempt from liability under the E-Commerce Directive by virtue of it being a ‘neutral host’ - on the basis that it had not played an active role that would give it knowledge of, or control over, the data stored.

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