The Delhi High Court has ruled in favour of Google LLC in a trademark infringement case against consultancy firm Google Enterprises Pvt Ltd and its associated entities. The court has ordered the defendants to pay a penalty of INR 10 lakh for misusing Google’s trademark and has permanently restrained them from infringing on the trademark. The court observed that the defendants’ modus operandi was to dupe the public into believing that they were associated with Google India. Besides announcing the penalty, the court has also directed the Department of Technology (DoT) to pass directions to internet and telecom service providers to block access to the website hosted by Google Enterprises Pvt Ltd.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has recently upheld the penalty of INR 1,337.76 crore that was imposed on Google by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the Android devices market. The penalty was imposed on Google in 2018, after the CCI found that Google was forcing smartphone makers to pre-install Google search and other apps on their devices, thereby abusing its dominant position. Google had challenged the penalty in NCLAT, but the appellate tribunal upheld the penalty in March 2021.