Booking a competing brand as Google Adword, a tactic called Brand Hijacking, has been common for a while.
In 2006 the decision of a French Court was confirmed, that it is illegal for Google to sell trademarks as Adwords to competitors of the trademark owner. But the French courts required trademark owners to inform Google about ownership of brands.
Google had to pay Euro 300,000 to the plaintiff, Louis Vuitton.
Now in a similar case the Austrian High Court went even further.
In the Austrian case the court ruled, that it is already illegal to book a trademark, that is owned by someone else, as Adword.
In the USA the judge Jeremy Vogel of the district court of San Jose recently decided to hear a similar case against Google.