GOOGLE VS MMT TRADEMARK DISPUTE - A curious case of confusion'

Last week, the Delhi High Court ruled that the mere use of trademarks on Google Ads, an online advertising platform, did not amount to infringement under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

- BHAVINI MISHRA

Last week, the Delhi High Court ruled that the mere use of trademarks on Google Ads, an online advertising platform, did not amount to infringement under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. This was after online travel agency MakeMyTrip (MMT) claimed that its trademarks, "Makemytrip" and "MMT", were being used as keywords in Google Ads to display ads and links of its rival Booking.com.

The order has opened up a new debate on trademark infringement in the digital realm, revolving around whether it can create confusion among users. The court observed that Booking.com is a popular website, and that chances of confusion over MMT and Booking.com were low. The order implies that there's always the possibility of a person or entity paying a price to be linked with a popular brand, such an action will not be considered trademark infringement.

Rather than right or wrong, the question addressed by the court was whether MMT's trademark was violated or not.

While the law has set criteria to decide whether a trademark is infringed or not, every use of a trademark isn't necessarily a violation, said Siddhant Chamola, associate partner, Anand and Anand.