Keyword linked advertising and infringement in India
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clpstaff &clp articlesLex OrbisManisha Singh [email protected] the spectrum and prominence of the Internet widens, the issues that dwell out of its use also acquire…
Lex Orbis
Manisha Singh Nair
[email protected]
As the spectrum and prominence of the Internet widens, the issues that dwell out of its use also acquire greater significance. This pertinently owes to the fact that domain names and keywords have been recognised to have an identity similar to trade marks. In the case of Satyam Infoway v. Sifynet Solutions Pvt. Ltd, the Apex Court opined that the role of a domain name was not only to provide an address for a computer on the Internet but also to act as a means of carrying on commercial activity.
As the prominence of search engines rise in all spheres of a user's life, the controversy surrounding keyword advertising has increased. The latest in this respect is the dispute between Google and Chennai-based Consim India Pvt Ltd., owners of bharatmatrimony.com and indiaproperties.com. Consim accused Google of infringing its trade mark at the Madras High Court. According to news reports, the company alleged in its petition that Google ads are used in Bharat Matrimony's platform to sell space to its competitors.
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