The state of Utah has passed a bill that could impact the practice of buying competitive keywords, reports Search Engine Land.

Some search engine marketers buy up keywords associated with the copyrighted terms of their competitors. Utah's Trademark Protection Act would make that practice illegal.

The bill creates an "electronic registration mark" as a new form of trademark. Registering that mark will cost $250 but once done a competitor may not use that term to trigger advertising.

The bill will almost certainly face legal challenges. Previous federal rulings have found that use of competitive keywords in search marketing is allowed under trademark law.