Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 29 JUNE 2026

Intellectual Property Rights -June 2026

King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Contributor
King, Stubb & Kasiva

King, Stubb & Kasiva

King Stubb & Kasiva is few of the top corporate law firms in India with offices in Bengaluru,...

View firm profile
Explore more from King, Stubb & Kasiva

Whether Google’s practice of allowing competitors to purchase and use the registered trademark “HINDWARE” as a keyword under its AdWords programme amounted to trademark infringement and unfair commercial exploitation of the plaintiff’s trademark

IndiaIntellectual Property
Jidesh Kumar
Jidesh Kumar
Himanshu Deora
Himanshu Deora
Navod Prasannan
Navod Prasannan
Prithiviraj Senthil Nathan
Prithiviraj Senthil Nathan
Author LinkedIn connections

Delhi High Court Holds Google Liable for Trademark Infringement Through Keyword Advertising: Hindware v. Grohe

Summary

In a significant ruling on the intersection of trademark law and digital advertising, the Delhi High Court in batch matters Hindware Ltd. v. Grohe India Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. [CS(COMM) 591/2017] and Hindware Ltd. v. Omkara Infoweb Pvt. Ltd. [CS(COMM) 592/2017] held that Google’s practice of permitting advertisers to bid on a competitor’s registered trademark as a keyword under its AdWords programme can amount to trademark infringement. The Court observed that allowing competitors to use the well-known trademark “HINDWARE” as a keywo-rd enabled them to unfairly benefit from the goodwill associated with the mark and constit-uted an unauthorized commercial exploitation of the plaintiff’s trademark rights. The judgment reinforces the principle that trademark protection extends beyond traditional forms of use and applies equally within the online advertising ecosystem.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

https://ksandk.com/

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

Copy, Right? ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. v. Open AI OpCo LLC

When an artificial intelligence system is trained on copyrighted news content, and later answers a user’s question using what it learned, has the law been broken? On 24th July 2026, the Delhi High Court answered that question, at least for now. In ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. v. Open AI OpCo LLC, Justice Amit Bansal declined to grant an interim injunction against OpenAI, holding, on a prima facie, interim stage view, that the company’s use of ANI’s news content to train its large language models (“LLMs”) falls within the fair dealing exception under Section 52(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, 1957
IndiaIntellectual Property
S.S. Rana & Co.
S.S. Rana & Co.
Article

Cross-Border Data Transfers Under India’s DPDP Act: Rules, Restrictions And Compliance Roadmap For 2027

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) introduces a relatively permissive framework for the cross-border transfer of personal data from India. Unlike the European Union’s GDPR, which relies extensively on adequacy decisions and prescribed transfer safeguards, the DPDP framework adopts a negative-list approach: international transfers are generally permitted, subject to restrictions that may be notified by the Central Government.
IndiaPrivacy
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

DPDP Data Breach Notification In India: Timelines, Requirements And Key Compliance Considerations

A personal data breach can create immediate legal, operational, and reputational consequences for an organisation. Under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (DPDP Rules), specific obligations have been prescribed for Data Fiduciaries following a personal data breach. While organisations may already have broader data protection and cybersecurity measures in place, breach notification requires a distinct and time-sensitive response. The DPDP framework requires communication both to affected Data Principals and to the Data Protection Board of India.
IndiaPrivacy
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

Data Retention And Deletion Under The DPDP Act: How Long Can Businesses Retain Personal Data In India?

India’s data protection framework has moved from legislation to implementation. With the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”) and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (“DPDP Rules”) now notified, organizations processing personal data in India need to reassess how long they retain personal data, why they retain it, and how they ultimately delete or anonymize it.
IndiaPrivacy
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

CCPS In India: Why Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares Remain Central To Venture Capital And M&A Transactions

Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) remain one of the most widely used instruments for venture capital and private equity investments in Indian companies. Their appeal lies in the ability to combine equity classification with negotiated economic and governance protections. But CCPS are not governed by a single, standalone statutory framework. Their legal treatment is instead shaped by the Companies Act, FEMA and foreign investment rules, tax law, and, where applicable, SEBI regulations.
IndiaCorporate/Commercial Law
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

What Happens To Existing SPDI Rules After Full DPDP Enforcement?

India’s data protection landscape is undergoing its most significant shift in over a decade. The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 (“SPDI Rules”), have long formed the core of personal data protection obligations under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act“) for body corporates handling sensitive personal data or information.
IndiaPrivacy
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

Banking & Finance Updates September 2026

In August 2026, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the draft Reserve Bank of India (Interest Rates on Loans and Advances) Directions, 2026, proposing a comprehensive framework for the way regulated entities determine and apply interest rates on loans. While the Indian banking sector has long operated under a patchwork of institution specific instructions, the draft Directions seek to bring much-needed consistency to interest rate regulation across banks, cooperative banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), all-India financial institutions and NBFCs. If finalised in their present form, the Directions will come into effect from 1 April 2027.
IndiaFinance and Banking
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

DPDP Act And Rules 2025: The 2026 Compliance Milestones Businesses Can’t Afford To Miss

India’s data protection regime has moved well past the discussion stage. With the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (“DPDP Rules”) notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MeitY”) on 13 November 2025, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”) now has a defined implementation roadmap, and 2026 is the year businesses should be using to prepare for substantive compliance.
IndiaPrivacy
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

The Promotion And Regulation Of Online Gaming Act, 2025 And The Promotion And Regulation Of Online Gaming Rules, 2026

The Act, the Rules and the OGAI are therefore simultaneously operational. The prohibition provisions under Chapter III of the Act, the criminal penalties under Chapter V of the Act and the institutional framework under the Rules are all in effect. There is effectively no formal compliance window for core prohibitions and penalties; stakeholders should treat the regime as immediately operational and adjust business models without delay.
IndiaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

DPDP Act Compliance For Startups And MSMEs: A Minimum Viable Data Protection Framework

The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (“DPDP Rules”) were notified on 13 November 2025, more than two years after the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act” or “Act”) received Presidential assent. The Government has adopted a phased implementation approach, with most of the substantive obligations under the Act and Rules becoming operative 18 months from the date of notification, i.e., on 13 May 2027.
IndiaPrivacy
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva
Article

Can Employers Monitor Employee Devices, Emails And Communications Under India’s DPDP Act?

The increasing use of remote working, Bring Your Own Device (“BYOD”) arrangements, cloud-based platforms and workplace monitoring software has made employee privacy an important consideration for employers in India. Organisations routinely collect and process employee data through access-control systems, company email accounts, endpoint security tools, attendance systems, CCTV, location services, and cybersecurity platforms.
IndiaPrivacy
King, Stubb & Kasiva
King, Stubb & Kasiva