Re[2]: Meta tag legalities

["Walker, Arlen P" <Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- COM>]

      I don't think you are likely to get into trouble using a trademark in
      a meta tag if you also use it (correctly) in the visible text.

Except perhaps with users who might get a little miffed at being offered a
page about Spacely Sprockets when they searched for Cogswell Cogs.

      Some search engines are using smarter algorithms lately, and only
      using keywords that are visible, and even checking for the text color
      being the same as the background. Some claim to penalize abuse of
      meta tags. I'm not sure how much they can do without having an actual
      person read the page and compare it to the tags, but if somebody
      complains, they can certainly act on them.  Abusing meta tags can get
      you onto trouble with the search engine people, but I don't think
      they care much about trademark violations.

Yahoo, for example, uses people for the indexing (one reason I try Yahoo
first, before trying other engines). Some rudimentary checking is possible
via machine.  The page we talked about a while back which used "sex",
"furniture",  "wealth" and a host of other unrelated keywords could be
easily picked up by such an inhuman detector as suspicious, though the
verification would probably still have to be made by a human.

Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224

Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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