Google Takes Keyword Bidding Dispute to Delhi High Court Division Bench
The Delhi HC Division Bench has been asked by Google to review a single-judge order that limited trademark keyword bidding in Google Ads. The lawsuit stemmed from a verdict in favour of Hindware, which ruled that competitors bidding on the “Hindware” brand was an infringement of the Trade Marks Act.
Google has taken its challenge to the decision on keyword bidding on Google search results to the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court. Hence, overturning the previous order by a single judge. On July 10th, the plea is most likely to be considered. In its defence, Google argues that smaller businesses are better able to compete because of keyword bidding.
This bidding lets them utilise the same important terms as others to show their search results prominently. Google is appealing the judgement of the Delhi High Court since it goes against established legal traditions in India, according to a Google representative. Google's ad rules are in line with industry norms that promote competition and offer customers additional options. The firm is eager to introduce its perspective to the court.
Google and Hindware’s Tussle Continues
A May ruling by a one-judge bench led by Justice Mini Pushkarna found Google guilty of enabling competitors of Hindware to utilise the trademark "Hindware" as keywords in their Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) campaign. In a lengthy 163-page decision, Justice Pushkarna found that Google violated the Trade Marks Act (Section 29(8)) by permitting rivals to use the term "Hindware" as a keyword.
Also, the one-judge bench reasoned that the Trade Marks Act was violated since Hindware was a company-coined name, as opposed to other instances where the names of the companies were rather generic and keyword bidding could be permitted. Google is expected to dispute this determination in its appeal of the May 22 decision. The business will reportedly argue that the Trade Marks Act does not differentiate between words that have been created by companies and those that are commonly used in English.
MakeMyTrip Vs Booking.com
The decision of the Delhi High Court in the MakeMyTrip v. Booking.com case from 2023 stands in stark contrast to Justice Pushkarna's ruling. When that happened, MakeMyTrip tried to stop Booking.com and Google from utilising its trademarks in Google Ads. A division bench turned down the request for temporary relief, even though a single-judge bench had granted it. It was also noted that internet users would not be persuaded to believe that Booking.com's services were sourced from MakeMyTrip, given that Booking.com was already a popular travel app.
The Division Bench had previously said that it is significant to remember that when one uses Google's search engine to look for MakeMyTrip India (MIPL) or its trademarks, the organic search results will display MIPL's website URL. At first glance, the court does not believe that MIPL has a right to assert such a claim under the Trade Marks Act. Without getting into the nitty-gritty of the case, the SC later upheld that decision in March 2024.
