The petitioners were aggrieved by the loss of customers due to Google Ads displaying a website that infringes the trademark of the petitioner when searching for their name. The Petitioner wanted to make Google liable for causing such an infringement. However, Google contended that it is merely a search engine and does not have control on the search results or the removal of a website, and the optimisation due to key words. It added that it could not even control its ads, hence cannot be liable. Most notably, it contended that a keyword cannot be considered as a trademark. The Court held Google cannot claim safe harbour immunity provided to intermediaries as it does not merely display third party content, but it also decides to whom such a transmission should be made. Hence, the court held Google’s actions liable for not conducting due diligence.
