Determining what is fair game in the world of paid search advertising is getting cloudier by the day. As a recent Ad Age article points out, there’s no law preventing marketers from displaying their ads whenever a competitor’s trademarked term is entered in the “search” field — and that has made some companies a bit testy over what turf they feel is rightfully theirs.

Tom Adams, CEO of Rosetta Stone, likens it to competitors sitting at your doorstep: “Think if you had a shop and competitors were standing outside your store, and the moment someone walks up they say ‘Please come with me.’”

Truth be told, this sounds a lot like the food court sales tactics I see at my local shopping mall. How else would Panda Express survive if they couldn’t serve orange-flavored chicken samples to customers waiting in line at Sbarro?

Full article: “Behind Nike’s Lawsuit Lies a Branding Story” (Advertising Age)