Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising

NEW DELHI, May 29 (Reuters) – An Indian court ruling that Google infringed the trademark rights of a bathroom fittings maker by allowing rivals to use its name as an advertising keyword could reshape the online ads market, Indian businesses said on Friday.

The court ordered Google to pay damages of $31,600 in a ruling issued on May 22 by the Delhi High Court, which businesses have since been responding to.

• Delhi High Court says Google allowed rival companies of India’s Hindware to use “Hindware” as a keyword to target their own advertising.

• The court said “the manner in which Google operates its AdWords Policy makes it clear that Google sells or auctions the use of the trademark … without any authorisation from the proprietor of the trademark.”

• Lawyers, Indian businesses and brand managers on Friday took to social media to support the ruling which they said will have major implications.

• Nithin Kamath, founder of Indian brokerage firm Zerodha, said his brand had suffered from similar issues for years, and the ruling “now opens up a route for legal recourse.”

• “You create the brand. Someone else bids on it. Google takes the fee … (this ruling) could change the economics of online advertising for millions of businesses,” said Anupam Mittal, founder of Indian matchmaking company, Shaadi.com.

• Google did not respond to a request for comment. The company counts India as one of its most critical markets.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)