Delhi High Court Ruling on Trademark Infringement
The Delhi High Court has found Google liable for trademark infringement, ruling in favor of sanitaryware leader Hindware. This decision stems from Hindware’s complaint regarding the unauthorized use of its registered trademark ‘HINDWARE’ as a keyword in Google’s AdWords advertising platform. The case, titled Hindware Ltd v. Grohe India Pvt Ltd & Ors, was adjudicated by Justice Mini Pushkarna.
Google’s Defense and Court’s Rejection
Google’s defense hinged on its role as an intermediary, claiming safe-harbor protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. However, the court dismissed this defense, highlighting Google’s active participation in the AdWords ecosystem. According to Justice Pushkarna, Google’s involvement in keyword auctions and the suggestion of search terms through its keyword planner indicated an active role in monetizing third-party trademarks, thus disqualifying it from intermediary protection.
Background of the Case
The judgment, delivered on May 22, arose from two commercial lawsuits filed by Hindware against Grohe India, Omkara Infoweb, Cera Sanitaryware, and Google entities. Hindware, through its predecessor HSIL, initiated the suits in 2013–14, contending that the use of ‘HINDWARE’ as a keyword led to the display of competitor advertisements when users searched for the brand.
Competitors’ Settlement and Google’s Liability
While Hindware settled with Grohe, Cera, and Omkara during the trial, Google India and Google LLC remained as the only contesting defendants. Hindware argued that Google’s marketing of ‘HINDWARE’ as a keyword was an unauthorized commercial use under Section 29(6) of the Trade Marks Act. The court agreed, stating that such use took unfair advantage of the mark without Hindware’s consent.
Court’s Conclusion and Financial Penalty
Justice Pushkarna ruled that Google’s actions amounted to trademark use and were not merely internal or technical. She emphasized that Google’s sale of trademarked terms as keywords was a commercial activity, thus constituting trademark use. Consequently, the court restrained Google from using ‘HINDWARE’ or any similar terms in its advertising.
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The court also awarded nominal damages, requiring Google to pay ₹15 lakh in each of the two suits, totaling ₹30 lakh, to Hindware, payable within eight weeks.
Legal Representation
The case saw representation from various legal advocates. Hindware was represented by Manav Gupta, Sahil Garg, Abhinav Jain, Ankit Gupta, Mithil Malhotra, and Aryan Pandey. Google LLC’s defense team included Senior Advocates Sandeep Sethi, Sriparna Dutta Choudhury, Kopal Tewary, Naman Dutt, Krisna Gambhir, and Shreya Sethi, while Google India was represented by Neel Mason, Vihan Dang, Ujjwal Bhargava, Aditya Mathur, and Anuparna Chatterjee.
[Read Judgment]
