Editorial guidelines: trademarks

As an advertiser, you are responsible for ensuring that your use of keywords and ad text does not infringe or violate the intellectual property rights of others, including trademarks. If you are using a trademark in your ad, it is your responsibility to obtain permission to use that trademarked item. Microsoft adCenter will not serve as a mediator between trademark owners and advertisers interested in using trademarked items in their ad campaigns.

Microsoft adCenter does not allow you to bid on as a keyword, or use in the content of your ads:
- Any term whose use would infringe the trademark of any third party or otherwise be unlawful or in violation of the rights of any third party.
Microsoft adCenter might allow the use of a third-party trademark if its use is truthful and lawful, for example if:
- You are a reseller whose website sells authentic goods or services that are distributed under the trademark.
- Your website provides information (for example, product reviews) about goods or services represented by the trademark, and your principal offering is not the sale of any product or service that competes with the goods or services represented by the trademark.
- You are clearly using the ordinary, dictionary use of a term, and your principal offering is not the sale of any product or service that competes with the owner of the trademarked term.

Trademark owners

As a trademark owner, you are responsible for contacting an advertiser directly if you feel your trademark is being used improperly.

If you are concerned that your trademark is being used improperly, please do the following:

Contact the advertiser directly.
Contact us by completing the Online Trademark Concern form, which you can find on the Trademark Concerns page.