Google Vs Google: Delhi HC Ruling Goes In Favour Of Tech Major In Trademark Infringement Case

Delhi High Court has ordered consultancy firm Google Enterprises Pvt Ltd and its associated entities to pay INR 10 lakh to tech major Google LLC. The penalty has been announced for misusing Google’s trademark.

Justice Sanjeev Narula, in his verdict, permanently restrained the consultancy firm from infringing Google’s trademark, observing that the firm used the “Google” mark without due authorisation, as per media reports.

The court observed that the modus operandi of the firm was to dupe the public into believing that it was associated with Google India. Hence, it was indulged in “deception and trickery”, it added.

Besides announcing the penalty, the court has also directed the Department of Technology (DoT) to pass directions to the internet and telecom service providers to block access to the website hosted by Google Enterprises Pvt Ltd.

After noticing certain brochures and news articles in 2011 regarding a collaboration between Google India and Tata Communications for a joint venture named E-Kutir Technology & Extension Management (P) Ltd, Google LLC approached the court.

Google LLC argued that all the defendants were colluding with each other in furtherance of their unlawful activities.

The tech company also told the court that the defendants used identical marks on their websites and even filed applications with the trademark registry to register those marks.

The court observed that the marks displayed on the defendants’ websites were entirely identical to the plaintiff’s mark.

“The present suit is accordingly decreed in favour of the plaintiff… damages of INR 10 Lakh- are awarded in favour of plaintiff, payable jointly and severally by defendants No. 1, 2 and 3 to plaintiff,” the court ordered.

On the sidelines, the tech giant seems to be embroiled in legal battles of different scales in the country. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) recently upheld the INR 1,337.76 Cr penalty imposed on Google by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abuse of its dominant position in the Android devices market.

Last year, CCI fined Google INR 1,337.7 Cr in the Android devices case. Besides, it also imposed a fine of INR 936 Cr on the tech giant in a separate case related to its Play Store policies.