There's no inherent fraud or trademark infringement in advertising/bidding for search terms of your competitors. A classic example is Dominos bidding for 'Pizza Hut', and vice versa.
There may be trademark infringement when you use another company's trademarks. There are some exceptions, for example copy like 'Compatible with $X' or 'Learn why users are switching from $X to <you>' are generally fine. The line has been drawn over decades of court battles and case law.
At work, we've dealt with a few examples that go as far as falsely impersonating our brand.
Recently, we've started getting 'explanations' from these (usually fly-by-night operators) that it was 'unintended' and the result of AI targeting and optimization. Yeah, right.
There may be trademark infringement when you use another company's trademarks. There are some exceptions, for example copy like 'Compatible with $X' or 'Learn why users are switching from $X to <you>' are generally fine. The line has been drawn over decades of court battles and case law.
At work, we've dealt with a few examples that go as far as falsely impersonating our brand.
Recently, we've started getting 'explanations' from these (usually fly-by-night operators) that it was 'unintended' and the result of AI targeting and optimization. Yeah, right.