Indian Sanitaryware Brand Wins Legal Battle Against Google Over Trademark Infringement The Delhi High Court has ruled that Google’s practice of auctioning trademarked brand names as advertising keywords in its Google Ads program constitutes clear trademark infringement. The court ordered the tech giant to permanently stop using the term “HINDWARE” or its variations as keywords in its advertising system and awarded Rs 30 lakh in damages to Hindware, an Indian sanitaryware manufacturer. The case, which spanned over a decade, centered on whether Google’s pay-per-click model violated trademark laws by allowing competitors to divert traffic to their websites using a registered brand’s name. The dispute began in 2013 when Hindware discovered that competing brands, including Cera Sanitaryware and Grohe, were purchasing the trademark “HINDWARE” as a keyword through Google AdWords. This practice led to customers searching for Hindware being shown results from these competing brands, which Hindware argued constituted “unfair competition” and “trademark dilution.” While Cera and Grohe eventually settled with Hindware, the legal battle against Google continued, focusing on whether the search engine’s role in facilitating keyword bidding qualified as trademark infringement under India’s Trade Marks Act. The court’s 163-page judgment emphasized Section 29(6)(d) of the Trade Marks Act of 1999, which defines unauthorized use of a registered trademark as including advertising in digital formats, such as sponsored search keywords. Justice Pushkarna ruled that Google’s AdWords program allowed competitors to exploit Hindware’s brand reputation by bidding on the term “HINDWARE,” effectively diverting potential customers to their websites.#google #delhi_high_court #hindware #trade_marks_act #google_ads
