Google not entitled to safe harbour status on misuse of Trademark: Delhi HC

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has ruled that Google is not eligible for safe harbour status under the Information Technology Act, 2000, as it uses trademarks as keywords under its Ads Programme, which may lead to infringement.

This means that Google now faces potential legal ramifications if advertisers exploit another company's trademark to boost their search ranking, causing harm to the trademark owner or confusing consumers.

This decision not only holds the potential to impact Google's advertising revenue, but it could also reshape its legal standing.

Being an intermediary, Google has long enjoyed legal immunity under Section 79 of the IT Act, shielding it from liability for actions taken by third-party entities on its platforms.

However, the recent court ruling has shifted the landscape. The court reasoned that Google actively engages in selecting keywords and participates in using trademarks.

As it also plays a role in determining which recipients receive the infringing links, the previously applicable safe harbour status no longer holds.

The court's pronouncement came within the context of the case Google LLC vs DRS Logistics.

In this lawsuit, DRS Logistics alleged that its trademark, 'Agarwal Packers and Movers', was being exploited by Google in its keyword suggestions. Competitors were leveraging this trademark to drive traffic to their own websites.

To break down the situation, Google operates its Ads Programme, which displays sponsored links alongside search query results.

As part of this service, Google suggests keywords to advertisers, enhancing their visibility on the search results page. DRS Logistics contended that Google permitted advertisers to pay a premium to display their ads by incorporating the logistics company's trademark into these keywords. DRS asserted that Google's actions amounted to trademark infringement.

The court heard two appeals brought forth by Google LLC and Google India, both challenging a 2021 order from a single judge. The original order had determined that utilizing trademarks as keywords within the Ads Programme could be considered 'use' under the Trade Mark Act, potentially constituting infringement.

With inputs from agencies

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