LUXEMBOURG (Bloomberg) - Louis Vuitton told the European Union's (EU) highest court that Google Inc. does not have the right to sell trademark-protected names to advertisers that trigger "sponsored links" when the name is used in an Internet search.

Google, owner of the world's most-used Internet search engine, and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA have been locked in a six-year fight over Internet searches that link users to sites selling counterfeit fashion accessories. Google is appealing a 2006 ruling by a Paris court that it breached Louis Vuitton's trademark rights.

"Google makes money not by reason of the nature of the keyword, but by someone clicking on the keyword," Google lawyer Alexandra Neri told a 15-judge panel of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg yesterday. "The decision to click or not to click belongs to who - clearly to the Internet user."

The case is the EU tribunal's first on whether companies in the 27-nation region can block search engines from using trademarked brand names to trigger results. Internet ads tied to keywords generate most of Google's revenue.

"Google's advertisement activities have given companies which sell fake products unprecedented visibility beyond their wildest dreams," Louis Vuitton lawyer Patrice de Cande told the court.

Keywords are not visible and therefore cannot be considered a protected trademark, Google's Ms Neri told the court.

LVMH sued in 2003 and the Paris Central Court three years later ordered Mountain View, California-based Google to pay LVMH 300,000 euros for trademark infringement.

France's highest appeals court last year referred the case to the EU tribunal for guidance. A ruling is expected by next year.

Whether keywords are protected under EU trademark law has been "of great concern" to brand owners, said Stijn Debaene, a lawyer with Allen & Overy LLP in Brussels. "This is the most important case for the e-commerce industry" in the EU.

Ms Neri told the court yesterday. When Google's French unit receives proof of a registered trademark by a company it will add the name to a database of other names that will be blocked from being chosen as keywords, she said.

LVMH's de Cande told the court Google did not act quickly enough when it received Louis Vuitton's complaint and it did not change its system.

An adviser to the court known as an advocate general will give a non-binding opinion by June 4. The final ruling is expected within six months after that.