This week, Utah, under the guise of protecting us poor, ignorant consumers, has taken a step (which will likely be reversed) to prevent businesses from diverting our online attention by making it illegal for anyone to bid on a trademark term they don’t own. We are not talking about using the trademark in the ad, just showing an ad when the trademark is searched.
In rationalizing this law, Utah House Majority Leader David Clark likened the bidding on others’ trademark terms to diverting a shopper who goes to a particular department store to buy a dress shirt. He said, "You get right to the front door and somebody whisks you away to a different store."
His analogy is a bit flawed…okay, a lot flawed.
A more accurate analogy might be: I intend to drive to Menards (home improvement store) to get paint, and on the way I see the sign out in front of Home Depot advertising a sale on paint, so I go there.
Or, a bit further removed, Burger King sets up shop across the street from McDonald’s knowing that they will benefit from diverting some of the Mc D’s traffic.
I believe our country is what’s been called by Milton Friedman a free and open market (at least as close as we can really get). Given how “republican” Utah is, I’d think the state legislators might have something better to do than inhibit free markets and communication.
If Mr. Clark is really serious about not letting one company divert our attention during the purchase process, then Utah ought to force businesses to remove all exterior signage. Goodness forbid, we may actually find a better deal by reading advertising along the way.
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