A US appeals court has ruled it is not an infringement to use a competitor’s trademark to activate Google sponsored links.

In 1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. Lens.com, Inc., it was argued that the purchase of keywords matching 1-800 Contacts’ trademark caused “initial-interest confusion” in customers, resulting in their clicking on a link to Lens.com’s website when their original interest was in visiting 1-800 Contacts’ website.

The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit found that, because  only 1.5% of searchers actually clicked on the sponsored link, it could not be concluded that Lens.com’s keyword activity was likely to lure consumers away from 1-800. Accordingly, there was no likelihood of confusion, and so no trademark infringement.