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Using Trademarks in Meta Tags: Avoid It or Get Permission
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Stopping the Use of Infringing Meta Tags
To curb this type of trademark infringement, the trademark owner must first request that the offending website stop the deceptive use. If the use continues and the two companies cannot reach an agreement, the trademark owner may file a lawsuit in federal district court. If the trademark owner prevails, the court may order the offending website to pay money damages and, in some cases, the trademark owner's attorneys' fees as well. In egregious cases of intentional deception, the monetary award may amount to several hundred thousand dollars.
Permissible Uses of Trademarks in Meta Tags
Not every use of another company's trademark in a meta tag is illegal. When the trademark is used only to describe the goods or services of a company or their geographic origin, it is permitted under trademark law as a "fair use." For example, if a site distributes literature and music from the Amazon region, it may use the word "Amazon" in its meta tags. This use would not infringe the Amazon.com trademark, because the term "Amazon" is being accurately used to describe the goods offered at the site.
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Former Playmate Terri Welles established a website and used Playboy and Playmate in her site's meta tags. A court permitted the use of Playboy's trademarks because Ms. Welles used the terms to describe herself and properly indexed the pages. The court was also influenced by the fact that most of the free Web pages at the site included a disclaimer at the bottom: "This site is neither endorsed, nor sponsored by, nor affiliated with Playboy Enterprises, Inc. PLAYBOY, PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR and PLAYMATE OF THE MONTH are registered trademarks of Playboy Enterprises, Inc." (Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Welles, 7 F. Supp. 2d 1098 (Cal. S.D. 1998).)
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