The Delhi High Court has directed Google LLC to pay Rs 30 lakh in damages to sanitaryware brand Hindware for trademark infringement via its AdWords programme.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, in an order dated May 22, held that Google cannot avoid responsibility by providing a keyword planner tool that leads to infringement.
The court ruled that Google is an active participant in monetising trademarks as keywords for paid advertisements on search results pages. It rejected Google’s claim to safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act.
Hindware had alleged that rivals bought its trademark terms such as ‘Hindware Sanitary’ to divert customers. The court found this practice gave unfair advantage to competitors and was contrary to honest commercial practices.
