"Be that as it may, it is clear from Google’s EU and EFTA policy that Google provides a higher duty of care in a jurisdiction where large portions of the population are internet literate," Delhi High Court Judge Kameswar Rao noted in his ruling last week in the case of a packaging and moving company's lawsuit against Google. DRS logistics, which owns Agarwal Movers and Packers, had moved the Delhi High Court against the tech giant in a case of copyright infringement in 2015, alleging that Google let third parties use its trademark as keywords in their advertisements. Keywords are terms used in Google Ads which allow its search engine to rank and display an advertisement among search results, based on its relevance. DRS Logistics owns the trademark 'Agarwal Packers and Movers'. The lawsuit, which alleges that Google discriminated against the plaintiff and profited from bidding on its trademark, provides insight into how Google's advertising systems and policies are implemented in India. Key observations made by the court Use of trademarks in keywords unlawful: The Delhi High Court held that the use of trademarks as keywords is an infringement of the Trademark Act. "..a perusal of Section 29(9) (of the Trademark Act) makes it clear that an infringement of a trademark can be by way of spoken use which is different from printed or visual representations of the mark. That is invisible use of the mark can also infringe a trademark." — Justice Kameswar Rao. Google responsible for trademark infringement: …
