The Supreme Court denied MakeMyTrip’s appeal that Booking.com was infringing on its registered trademark through the internet giant’s Google Ads program. The traveltech major was challenging the December Delhi High Court dismissal of its injunction request on Google and Booking.com to use registered trademarks as ‘keywords’ on the Google Ads Program. The court, composed of the Chief Justice of India, saw no chance of confusion for a user who would want to use MMT to go on Booking.com because their ad displays first.
MakeMyTrip said that when people search on Google, a picture of Booking.com displays at the top, with MakeMyTrip appearing below it. MakeMyTrip stated that Google charges for this, and Booking.com has gained notoriety while exploiting MakeMyTrip’s brand, so benefiting from its reputation.
The Supreme Court on Thursday denied MakeMyTrip’s petition against Google for trademark infringement through the Google Ads program.
MakeMyTrip has accused Google of exploiting its competitor, Booking.com, by sponsoring links.
The Supreme Court dismissed the case and concluded that Booking.com did not infringe on MakeMyTrip’s trademark. The court determined that confusion was unlikely, as MakeMyTrip argued, because customers looking to visit MakeMyTrip’s website were unlikely to end up at Booking.com.
MakeMyTrip filed a petition in the Supreme Court in December 2023, challenging the decision of a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, which reversed the interim order of a single bench bench in favor of MakeMyTrip
The Supreme Court has ruled that trademarks used in Google advertisements do not constitute infringement or passage under the 1999 Trademarks Act.
Earlier, in May 2022, a Delhi High Court issued an interim injunction that if competitors like Booking.com use a registered mark like ‘MakeMyTrip’ as a slogan through Google ads, may constitute trademark infringement
In the Supreme Court case, MakeMyTrip argued that when customers search on Google, the Booking.com image is displayed first, followed by MakeMyTrip below it. MakeMyTrip alleged that Google charges for this, and by paying this fee, Booking.com uses the MakeMyTrip brand to make it even more prominent, thus benefiting from its popularity.
In response, Booking.com and Google said there was no confusion because they did not prioritize Google ads in retail. They pointed out that MakeMyTrip does not appear anywhere on screen or as a trademark, and refuted claims that MakeMyTrip’s popularity was piggybacked.
