Booking.com, Make My Trip and Google Ads Programme
The Delhi High Court recently held that mere use of trademarks on the Google Ads programme does not amount to infringement or passing off under the Trade Marks Act,1999 [Google LLC v MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited and Ors].
A Division Bench of Justices Vibhu Bakhru and Amit Mahajan referred to its earlier decision in the case of Google LLC v DRS Logistics (P) Ltd & Ors and said that the use of trademarks as key words by competitors, absent any confusion or deceit, does not per se amount to infringing use.
The Bench rejected the contention that in the virtual world, use of keywords would be akin to applying the trademark in the software used to power the Google Ad Program.
“The said contention is unmerited and insubstantial. The trade mark is not applied to any material when it is used as a keyword. Neither Google nor the advertiser applies the trade mark on any material. Neither of them do so to any material intended to…