An Indian court ruling against Google's keyword-based advertising practices has caused a major stir in the tech world. Local entrepreneurs and founders of major companies claim that Google is being used to poach customers and force brands to pay to protect their own names. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports .
The Delhi High Court found Google guilty of trademark infringement in a dispute involving the Hindware brand and imposed a fine of 3 million rupees (approximately $31,600). Judge Mini Pushkarna rejected Google's arguments that it is merely a passive intermediary, emphasizing that the Google Ads platform allows competitors to use other brand names as keywords.
This decision was supported by prominent entrepreneurs such as Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath and Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu. According to Kamath, when a user searches for a specific brand on Google, the top results are often competitor ads, forcing companies to spend extra money on the Google platform to maintain control over their own brand.
Google representatives, for their part, stated that the company's policy does not allow competitors to use trademarks in ad text and that this rule applies globally. The company stated that it operates in accordance with local laws and will continue to protect the interests of users.
India is Google's largest market after China, so any court ruling affecting its search and advertising business is of strategic importance to the tech giant. Legal experts say this decision could set a new precedent for digital marketing and intellectual property rights in the future.
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