Recently Google changed their Brand policy and I have seen a number of people who no longer can make ads using specific brand names. I have also seen a number of people that still can make AdWords ads using the same brand without being certified by the brandowner. This spooks me and Im NOT interested in how to cheat Google, but in why some people can use brands in AdWords and others not. There must be a perfectly ok answer to this because it is a huge company and I do'nt think they are interested in messing with Google... D.
Most of the time you can use brand terms as keywords and even int he ad copy. You can not represent yourself as the owner of that trademark or use their display url. If they file ownership of the trademark, you also might not be able to use the trademark term. interactivemaxmarketing.com