Google likely to win EU court battle over ads

Google looks likely to win a European high court battle over how it uses keywords in advertising — but legal experts say the issue is likely to keep rattling the search giant.

Rights owners have long complained about Google's practice of allowing advertisers to promote their products to customers searching for a rival's goods. Software, airline, luxury goods companies and even a law firm have taken Google to court in a bid to stop the practice, arguing that it hijacks their brand name and misleads consumers. The case being decided at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg next week pits Google against a number of French luxury goods firms including LVMH, the firm behind Louis Vuitton handbags. The companies complain that Google broke the law by accepting ads using brand names without permission, and they fear that counterfeiters and unofficial online stores can buy a keyword such as "Louis Vuitton" and use it to advertise bogus bags.