Major Setback for Google from High Court: Cannot Use Another Brand's Trademark in a Company's Advertisement..

The Delhi High Court has dealt a major blow to search engine giant Google in a landmark ruling concerning its advertising system. The Court has explicitly clarified that Google cannot utilize a specific company's registered trademark on its advertising platform (Google Ads) to promote advertisements for a rival company. This historic verdict has brought significant relief to the renowned sanitaryware company, 'Hindware.' Furthermore, the Court has imposed a hefty fine of ₹30 lakh on Google in this case involving the misuse of a trademark.

**Key Highlights of the Case**

**Google is Not Merely an Intermediary:** A single-judge bench presided over by Justice Mini Pushkarna clarified that, in the context of advertisements, Google's role is not limited solely to acting as an intermediary or merely providing a platform. Google plays an active role in suggesting keywords to advertisers and determining the ranking of advertisements.

**Curbing the 'Keyword Game':** The Court stated that if a company purchases another company's registered trademark as a keyword—specifically to ensure its own advertisements appear at the top of search engine results—such an act constitutes a violation of Section 29(6) of the Trademarks Act.

**Strict Directives for the Future:** The High Court has issued strict directives to Google, mandating that in the future, no advertisements shall be displayed based on any keyword that constitutes the registered trademark of another company.

**What is the Full Story Behind the Hindware Case?**

This dispute originated in 2013. The sanitaryware brand Hindware discovered that some of its major competitors—Cera Sanitaryware and Grohe India—had purchased the term 'Hindware' as a keyword under Google's AdWords program.

Consequently, whenever a customer searched for 'Hindware' or 'Hindware Sanitaryware' on Google, the search results would display links to the websites of the competitor companies (Cera or Grohe) at the very top, rather than Hindware's own website. Hindware characterized this practice as an attempt to mislead customers and to derive financial gain without consent. However, Cera and Grohe subsequently reached a settlement with Hindware regarding the matter.

**Google's Arguments Rejected**
During the hearing, it came to light that before 2009, Google did not permit the use of trademarks as keywords; however, it subsequently altered its policies in 2009.

In its defense, Google argued that these keywords merely function as backend triggers for the search engine. Since the trademark name does not appear in the advertisement visible to the user, it cannot be deemed an infringement under the Trademarks Act. However, the Delhi High Court outright rejected this argument by Google, deeming it an attempt to take unfair advantage of the trademark's reputation.

This verdict by the Delhi High Court is being hailed as a significant milestone in the realm of digital advertising. It is expected to curb the misuse of keywords via Google AdWords and ensure better protection of companies' trademark rights.

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