Advertising

As an advertiser, you are responsible for ensuring that your keywords and ad content, including trademarks and logos, do not infringe or violate the intellectual property rights of others.We take situations of trademark infringement seriously.Review our intellectual property policies below for details about trademarks, copyright, counterfeit goods and how to submit complaints.

Definitions

Term(s)

Counterfeit policy

Description

Concerns the actual goods promoted on a site
Trademark
Concerns the trademark used in text of the ad or keywords
Counterfeit
Goods that mimic trademark brand features
Copyright/pirated goods
Goods that are a copy of the product (such as music, movies, software)

Trademark owner

If a trademark owner is concerned that their trademark is being used improperly in ad content, the owner should first contact the advertiser directly to address the issue.If dissatisfied with the results, the owner may also wish to contact Microsoft by completing the Intellectual Property Concern Form for that market, and select the option [Trademark Misuse in Ad Copy].See Trademark Infringement Investigations below for more details.

Please note that Microsoft is not a mediator.As such, Microsoft encourages trademark owners to engage directly with advertisers whom they believe are misusing their trademarks.

Ads and Keyword Investigations

Microsoft will investigate a complaint about trademark infringement in the text of a search ad and will take appropriate action after it collects all required information.The intent of the investigation is to ensure the quality and accuracy of our ad results and to help our users avoid confusion.

Microsoft allows the fair use of trademarks in ad content, in accordance with truth and law, 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

ApprovedApproved

Buy Contoso
www.contoso.com
Perfect deals available now!
Visit our website for details!

DisapprovedDisapproved

Buy (Direct competitor brand)
www.contoso.com
Perfect deals available now!
Visit our website for details!

Policy

Usage of trademark brands must not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, even if using dynamic text.
Window Cleaning
www.contoso.com
Residential cleaning services in your area.
Get your windows back to sparkling new right away!
Get MS Windows today
www.unapproved-distributor.com

Perfect deals available now!
Download now.
Ordinary dictionary use of a term is allowed.In this allowed instance, the ad is not referring to Microsoft Windows.

Counterfeit policy

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.Trademark or designer product brand names cannot be modified with "counterfeit", "fake", "replica", "copy of", "inspired by", "bootleg" or any synonym thereof.

Upon receiving a sufficiently detailed complaint containing all required information, Microsoft will open an investigation and, if needed, remove the ad that violates these policies from our network.If you are a trademark owner and want to submit an allegation regarding the advertising of counterfeit goods, please complete the Intellectual Property Concern Form.

  • 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 content itself.
  • Counterfeit vs. copyright/pirated goods: A counterfeit good mimics trademark brand features rather than copying a product itself (such as music, movies or software).

ApprovedApproved

Contoso Handbags
www.contoso.com
Authentic Contoso products.
See our fall collection now.

DisapprovedDisapproved

ConToSo Handbags
www.replicacontoso.com
Huge discounts on all products.

Buy now and save.

Policy

The advertising of counterfeit goods on our network is prohibited.

Be advised that information related to the complaint (including the contact information of the complainant) may be transferred to the advertiser of the complaint.

Copyright policies

Advertisement with content that infringe copyrights, links to infringing content, or products or services promoted in the advertisement that may cause copyright infringement or evasion of copyright protection are prohibited from publication.Microsoft also prohibits the advertising of pirated goods on our keyword advertising network.Pirated goods are unauthorized and complete copies of products such as music, movies, or software.Once Microsoft receives a sufficiently detailed complaint containing all required information, Microsoft will open an investigation and, if needed, remove the ad that violates these policies from our keyword ads.

ApprovedApproved

Contoso Software
www.contoso.com
Official downloads and services.
Check out our latest products.

DisapprovedDisapproved

Get Contoso Software Free
www.piratedcontoso.com
Cheap pirated software.

Available now.

Policy

Advertising containing content that infringes copyright is prohibited.

If you feel that an ad violates these policies, please complete the appropriate Intellectual Property Concern Form.