Using Trademarks in Meta Tags: Avoid It or Get Permission
Improper use of someone else's trademark in your meta tags can land you in legal hot water.
A meta tag is an HTML (hypertext markup language) code embedded on a Web page that is used by the website owner to identify the site content. Meta tags are powerful tools because they have a direct effect on the frequency with which many search engines will find a website.
Meta tags have been the subject of trademark lawsuits, because companies have used them to divert or confuse consumers. This use can result in a successful trademark infringement lawsuit, leading to an award of financial damages and, in some cases, attorneys' fees.
How Meta Tags Work
Meta tags do not affect the appearance of a website and are not visible when you look at a Web page, but they provide information regarding the content of the site. For example, the keyword meta tag for a website offering handmade watches and related items may appear as follows:
<META NAME ="Keywords" CONTENT="Handmade watches, watches, time pieces, clocks, wristwatches">
And the description meta tag (which also appears in many search engines' results pages) may look like:
<META NAME ="Description" CONTENT="Exclusive handmade watches from Germany. Sterling silver, leather, Swiss Army.">
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