I am so peeved, I am currently running PPC Campaigns for around 8 clients with big budgets. I have to say that this Trademark Warfare is getting out of hand!! I have already had to double the spend on clients "Trademark Name" To ensure that they have an ad displayed for themselves which is costing them a fortune. Here's another bad case: LONDON - Teletext Holidays is going to court in an attempt to stop Directline Holidays bidding on its trademarks and brand name as Google keywords. The travel comparison information provider has filed a claim with the High Court for 'trademark infringement' and 'passing off' after Direcline Holidays started snapping up keywords relating to Teletext Holidays. Teletext has contacted other companies biding on its trademarked keywords, threatening legal action if they do not 'stop promoting themselves in this way with immediate effect'. Matt Brittin, Google's UK managing director, recently admitted that the search giant would 'look to address' its trademark bidding policy if it fails to improve the paid-search experience for internet users.
Nothing wrong with bidding on the name now in the UK. It does stink for the company who owns the trademark, but what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Instead of worrying too much about others bidding on the trademarks you run, bid on theirs right back at them and fight fire with fire.
You can prevent competitors from using your trademarked name in their ad, but not from bidding on the keyword. Branded bidding on your own trademark shouldn't cost that much, and it can help direct visitors right into your sales funnel rather than your main website.
since you can use the trademark name in your ad and they can't you should be able to rise to the top by gaining a higher click through ratio than the competitor, it doesn't have to be a bidding war as Google favors ads with higher CTR