LI Network
Published on: 8 September 2023 at 18:56 IST
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a request by Policybazaar, an insurance product aggregator, to prevent the use of keywords identical to its trademarks on Google’s AdWords Program by other entities.
Justice Navin Chawla, while handling Policybazaar’s claim against Coverfox Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd and Acko General Insurance Ltd for allegedly using its trademark on the AdWords Program, found that there was no clear case of infringement.
In its lawsuit against Coverfox and Acko, Policybazaar argued that these companies were employing keywords identical to “Policybazaar” marks, such as “Policy Bazaar,” “PolicyBazaar,” and “Policy Bazar,” with the intention of redirecting business away from its website through confusion.
The court, in its provisional decision, determined that the lawsuits were based on allegations of simply using Policybazaar’s registered trademarks as keywords in the AdWords Program.
The mere appearance of the defendants’ websites as “advertisements” or “sponsored links” was insufficient to establish confusion among internet users.
The court stated, “I am of the preliminary opinion that the plaintiffs (Policybazaar and its owners) have failed to establish a case of trademark infringement or passing off by the defendants,” in an order dated September 6.
The court noted that the plaintiff had not alleged deception, and search results indicated that the defendants’ website appeared as a “sponsored link.”
Furthermore, the court observed that the plaintiff itself was using the registered trademarks of one of the defendants as keywords, indicating that they considered it a fair and honest commercial practice. Therefore, they could not now complain that others were benefiting more from their trademarks.
The court emphasized that its opinions were preliminary in nature and should not be seen as definitive and binding.