Can you add someone else’s trade mark as a metatag when posting about your own product on social media? What about placing paid advertisements on Google to promote your product when users search for someone else’s trade mark?

The CJEU has clarified in the Watermaster case that while it is acceptable to use others’ trade marks in tags for content posted online, it is not when it comes to placing advertisements in the country’s top-level domain.

A Finnish company Lännen, who is the owner of the EU registered trademark WATERMASTER, sued two German companies – one for using the meta tag “Watermaster” on posts that were also available in Finland, and another for paid advertising that appears when searching for “Watermaster” on www.google.fi.

The CJEU explained that the company whose use of the meta tag “Watermaster” led their products to appear in Finland was found to not infringe the rights of the EU registered trademark WATERMASTER, while an infringement action could be brought against the company who paid for adds for their products to appear under the “Watermaster” search on www.google.fi.

What businesses should know:

• When placing paid advertisements businesses should ensure they are not placing them under a registered trademark’s search on the country’s top-level domain.
• This is also relevant when advertising in a country where the advertised product is not explicitly sold.
• However, the use of meta tags—which include hashtags—is an acceptable way to spread awareness about a product, despite the tags coinciding with registered trade marks.