Google moves Delhi HC against trademark infringement ruling in Hindware AdWords case

In a significant legal move, Google has filed an appeal with the Delhi High Court, contesting a recent ruling that found the tech giant liable for trademark infringement. This ruling was related to the use of registered trademarks owned by Hindware as keywords in its Google Ads platform. The appeal was brought before a Division Bench comprised of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Manmeet P.S. Arora, who issued a notice to Hindware regarding Google's appeal and scheduled a further hearing for July 24. Importantly, the Bench opted not to grant immediate relief by suspending the order that mandated Google to pay damages at this stage. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Google, contended that the single-judge decision contradicts established judicial precedents and internationally recognized norms concerning online advertising. This appeal is a direct challenge to a judgment from May 22, which ordered Google to compensate Hindware with Rs 30 lakh for allegedly allowing advertisers, including competitors, to utilize Hindware's trademarks, such as "Hindware" and "Hindware Sanitaryware," as keywords in their ads. Hindware's lawsuit claimed that this practice misled potential customers searching for its products, directing them instead to rival brands. The single judge's ruling emphasized that Google's actions provided an unfair competitive edge to its rivals, violating the Trade Marks Act. The court criticized Google for exploiting the goodwill associated with Hindware's brand for its advertising purposes. Additionally, the court noted that Google did not secure Hindware's consent prior to selling its trademarks as advertising keywords to third parties. In rejecting Google's defense under the Information Technology Act, the court determined that Google's involvement exceeded that of a mere intermediary, as its auctioning and selling of trademarks constituted an active commercial operation. The Division Bench is set to scrutinize Google's appeal concerning both the findings of the lower court and the imposed damages. The case will be revisited during the hearing on July 24.