DELHI — The Delhi High Court ruled on May 22, 2026, that Google is liable for trademark infringement over its keyword advertising practices in a case brought by Hindware. The court awarded Hindware ₹3 million (approximately $31,600) in nominal damages.

Justice Mini Pushkarna, in a 163-page judgment, rejected Google's argument that it acted as a passive intermediary in serving ads on its search platform. "Google by selling the trademark of the plaintiff [Hindware] as a keyword without any authorization for commercial gains is infringing the plaintiff's right to exclusive use of its trademark under Section 28 of the Trade Marks Act," Justice Pushkarna said. The ruling centered on Google’s AdWords platform, which allowed Hindware’s competitors to use the “Hindware” trademark as a keyword to target users searching for the brand.

A Google spokesperson said the company’s Ads policy on trademark keywords "does not allow competitor advertisers to use trademarked terms in the ad-text of an ad" and that the policy is applied globally. "We look forward to continuing to align our operations with local legal frameworks while maintaining strict standards to protect our users' long-term interests." Google also stated it respects local laws and engages with legal processes when court orders are "overbroad or inconsistent" with its policies.

Aprajita Rana, a partner at AZB & Partners, said: "The judgment per se will require platforms to relook at their processes to see if their automated tools encourage or offer trademarked terms to advertisers at large." She added: "What's important in this case is how providing access to trademarked terms, even in ad curation that's between online platforms and advertisers and not known to customers, can amount to a participative activity for platforms." Indian courts have previously established that internet companies can lose legal protections when they play an active role in unlawful activity. India has more internet users than any country other than China, making digital advertising practices a focal point for trademark enforcement.