If you run Google Ads campaigns in India, one ruling just changed the risk profile of a tactic you’ve probably used for years.
On 22 May 2026, the Delhi High Court permanently barred Google from auctioning the registered trademark “HINDWARE” as an ad keyword. The court ruled that bidding on a competitor’s registered brand keyword constitutes trademark infringement under Section 29(6) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 – even if the trademarked name never appears visibly in the ad itself. Liability sits with the advertiser doing the bidding, not just the platform.
Competitor brand keyword bidding – also called brand conquesting – has been a standard tactic in performance marketing for over a decade. In India, it operated in a legal grey area. That grey area is now gone.
This article breaks down what the ruling actually says, what it means for your campaigns, and the specific steps you need to take as a performance marketer or agency managing Google Ads in India.
Table of Contents
What is Competitor Brand Keyword Bidding?
Competitor brand keyword bidding is the practice of purchasing a rival company’s brand name as a keyword in Google Ads, causing your ad to appear when a user searches for that competitor.
For example: a user searches “Hindware bathroom fittings” on Google. Instead of seeing Hindware’s own ad at the top of the results, they see a sponsored ad from Cera or Grohe. That’s brand conquesting. The competing advertiser captured high-intent traffic that the searched brand created through years of marketing spend.
It’s one of the most efficient traffic acquisition tactics in Google Ads. Users searching for a specific brand name already know they want that product category. They’re deep in the buying journey. Conversion rates on branded searches are among the highest in any paid search account.
That’s exactly why it’s been so widely used. And exactly why it’s such a significant issue for the brand being targeted.
Competitor brand keyword bidding is the practice of purchasing a rival’s registered brand name as a Google Ads keyword to intercept traffic generated by that brand. In India, the Delhi High Court ruled in May 2026 that this constitutes trademark infringement under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, even when the trademarked term does not appear in the visible ad copy.
What Did the Delhi High Court Actually Rule – competitor brand keyword bidding Google Ads India?
The case, Hindware Ltd. v. Google LLC (CS(COMM) 591/2017 and 592/2017), was decided on 22 May 2026 by Justice Mini Pushkarna of the Delhi High Court.
The facts go back to 2013. Hindware, one of India’s largest sanitaryware brands, discovered that competitors Grohe India and Cera Sanitaryware had been purchasing “HINDWARE” and variations like “HINDWARE SANITARY” as keywords through Google AdWords. When Indian consumers searched for Hindware products, competitor ads appeared at the top of results. Hindware’s own organic listing was pushed down by paid ads from rivals who’d used its brand name to buy their position.
The Three Key Findings
The court made three findings that have direct implications for every advertiser running Google Ads in India.
First: Using a registered trademark as an invisible backend keyword constitutes “use in advertising” under Section 29(6) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The trademark doesn’t have to appear in the visible ad copy. The act of bidding on it is enough.
Second: Google is not a passive intermediary. The court rejected Google’s safe harbour defence, finding that Google actively suggested trademarked keywords through its Keyword Planner tool, ran the keyword auctions, and earned revenue from every click on a competitor ad triggered by Hindware’s brand name. The court stated Google “cannot shrug off responsibility.”
Third: Liability applies to both the advertiser and the platform. Grohe and Cera – the advertisers who placed the bids – faced direct trademark infringement liability, not just a platform policy complaint. Google was fined Rs 30 lakh in damages.
The Delhi High Court’s May 2026 ruling in Hindware Ltd. v. Google LLC established that invisible backend keyword bidding on a registered Indian trademark constitutes trademark infringement under Section 29(6) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Both the advertiser placing the bid and Google as the platform operator face direct legal liability. The ruling sets binding precedent within the Delhi High Court’s jurisdiction and is highly persuasive across other Indian High Courts.
Who is Legally Exposed After This Ruling?
This is the question every performance marketer and agency needs to answer honestly.
The ruling creates legal exposure in two specific situations. You need to know which one applies to you.
If You Are Bidding on a Competitor’s Registered Trademark
If you or your agency is currently running Google Ads campaigns in India that include a competitor’s registered brand name as a keyword, you are now operating with documented legal risk.
The key word is “registered.” This ruling protects registered trademarks under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Not every brand name is registered. But many are, and the brands most worth conquesting – established players with strong search demand – are almost certainly registered.
The liability is not theoretical. Grohe and Cera settled with Hindware before the final judgment. The fact that they settled is itself an acknowledgment of exposure. If you’re bidding on a competitor’s registered trademark in India, you could face a trademark infringement lawsuit, a court injunction, and damages.
That sounds like a legal problem, not a marketing problem. But when an injunction halts your campaign mid-flight and your agency is named in a lawsuit, it becomes a very practical marketing problem very quickly.
If You Don’t Know What Keywords Your Agency Is Running
This is the more common situation in India, where many brands outsource Google Ads management to agencies and don’t audit keyword lists regularly.
If your agency is running competitor brand keyword campaigns on your behalf, the liability can pass to you as the advertiser. “We didn’t know” is not a sufficient defence. The advertiser of record on the Google Ads account is the entity that placed the bid.
If you have an active Google Ads account in India and haven’t audited your keyword list recently, do it this week.
What This Means if a Competitor is Bidding on Your Brand
The other side of this ruling is the relief it creates for brands that have been on the receiving end of conquesting.
For years, Indian brands had no clean legal route to stop competitors from bidding on their brand names. Courts were inconsistent. Google’s global policy allowed the practice. Competitors who wanted to steal branded traffic faced almost no barrier.
That has changed.
Nithin Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, publicly stated after the ruling that companies like his “end up bidding on their own keywords” to defend traffic that should arrive organically, at zero cost. Anupam Mittal of Shaadi.com called it a long-overdue change. Both had experienced the problem firsthand on their own brands.
If your brand is registered as a trademark in India and a competitor is bidding on it in Google Ads, you now have a documented judicial precedent to demand enforcement from both the competitor and Google.
How to Check If a Competitor Is Bidding on Your Brand
The simplest way is also the least reliable: search your brand name in Google using an Incognito window and see if competitor ads appear. This only shows what’s running at that moment in your location.
For a more complete picture, use a paid search intelligence tool like Semrush’s Advertising Research, SpyFu, or AdSpyder. These tools index historical Google Ads data and can show you which advertisers have been bidding on keywords matching your brand name, when they ran, and what their ad copy said.
If you find a competitor bidding on your registered trademark, the recommended steps are: document the evidence (advertiser domain, ad copy, landing URL, date), check that your trademark is registered with the Trade Marks Registry of India, and consult an IP attorney before taking formal legal action.
Indian brands with registered trademarks now have clear legal grounds to demand that Google restrict competitors from bidding on their brand keywords. The Delhi High Court ruling strips Google of its passive intermediary defence in India and gives trademark holders a documented judicial precedent for enforcement action against both the competing advertiser and the platform.
How to Audit Your Current Keyword List
Whether you manage Google Ads yourself or work through an agency, this is the most immediate practical action you can take after this ruling.
The goal is to identify whether any of your current keyword groups include registered trademarks belonging to competitors.
Step 1: Log into Google Ads Manager and navigate to the Keywords section across all active campaigns.
Step 2: Export all active and paused keywords to a spreadsheet. Include match type, campaign name, and ad group name for each.
Step 3: Identify any keywords that include a competitor brand name. Look for exact brand names, common brand name + product category combinations (e.g. “Hindware faucets”), and misspellings of competitor brand names that are still clearly referential.
Step 4: For each identified keyword, check whether the competitor’s brand name is a registered trademark. You can search the Trade Marks Registry of India at ipindia.gov.in. Registered marks are searchable by name.
Step 5: Flag all keywords that match registered trademarks for review. Do not simply pause or delete them immediately. Pausing doesn’t erase the historical record. Consult with your legal team or an IP attorney before taking further action.
Step 6: Build a recurring audit schedule. Quarterly at minimum. If you work with an agency, make keyword list review a standing deliverable in your agency reporting.
This may feel like a compliance exercise. But the practical upside is real: removing conquesting keywords often reduces wasted spend on low-quality traffic that was unlikely to convert anyway. Users searching a competitor brand name by intent are typically not in buying mode for your product.
How to Protect Your Own Brand Keywords in Google Ads
If your brand name is registered as a trademark in India, you should now be running branded keyword campaigns as a baseline. Not because you want to, but because the alternative is leaving your highest-intent traffic exposed to competitors who may not yet know about this ruling or may choose to test it.
Run Brand Keyword Campaigns
A brand keyword campaign targets your own registered brand name and its common variations. When someone searches “Hindware faucets”, Hindware’s own brand campaign bids on that term and ensures their ad appears at the top before any competitor can.
The cost is typically very low. Your Quality Score on your own brand name is almost always the highest possible, which means your cost-per-click is minimal compared to any competitor bidding on the same term. It’s one of the most efficient campaigns in any Google Ads account.
From what we’ve seen with Young Urban Project course learners managing performance marketing for Indian D2C and B2C brands, branded keyword campaigns consistently show the highest conversion rates and lowest cost-per-acquisition of any campaign type. They’re not optional.
File a Trademark Complaint with Google
Google has a trademark complaints process for registered trademark holders who believe their mark is being used inappropriately in Google Ads. In India, the Hindware ruling now provides a legal basis for these complaints that didn’t exist clearly before.
To file a complaint, go to Google’s Trademark Complaint form for ads. You’ll need your registered trademark details and evidence of the infringing ad.
Note: this process operates through Google’s own policies and may have a different timeline than a formal legal action through Indian courts. For significant or ongoing infringement, a legal route may be more effective.
What Google’s Policy Says vs What Indian Courts Now Say
Here’s a conflict that hasn’t been resolved yet, and it matters for how you operate your Google Ads account.
Google’s global keyword policy currently allows advertisers to bid on trademarked terms as keywords in most countries, including India, subject to certain restrictions on using those marks in visible ad copy. This policy has not changed as of the date of this article.
The Delhi High Court ruling creates a direct conflict between Google’s stated policy and what Indian courts have now ruled is legal.
What does that mean in practice? It means that Google’s platform currently continues to allow a practice that an Indian court has ruled is trademark infringement in India. If you bid on a competitor’s registered trademark in India, Google won’t stop you. But a court might.
This conflict will likely resolve in one of two ways: Google changes its keyword policy for India to prohibit trademark keyword bidding by third parties, or brand owners pursue legal action against advertisers (and Google) who continue the practice under the existing policy. Possibly both.
Until the policy changes, the rule is: assume that what Google allows and what Indian law permits are not the same thing.
As of May 2026, Google’s global keyword policy continues to permit trademark keyword bidding in India, directly conflicting with the Delhi High Court’s ruling in Hindware Ltd. v. Google LLC. Indian advertisers who bid on competitors’ registered trademarks as keywords face legal exposure under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, regardless of Google’s platform-level permissiveness.
5 Actions Every Indian Performance Marketer Should Take This Week
Here’s the practical to-do list. These apply whether you’re a brand-side marketer, a performance marketing agency, or a consultant managing Google Ads accounts in India.
1. Audit your keyword list for competitor brand terms. Follow the six-step process above. Prioritise your highest-spend campaigns first. If you manage multiple client accounts, start with clients in competitive categories where conquesting is most common: FMCG, personal care, fintech, real estate, ecommerce.
2. Check your trademark registration status. If your brand name isn’t registered as a trademark in India, this ruling doesn’t directly protect you. Register it. The process is handled through the Trade Marks Registry of India (ipindia.gov.in). An IP attorney can accelerate this.
3. Set up brand keyword campaigns if you haven’t already. Your own registered brand name should always be defended in paid search. It’s cheap, converts well, and the alternative is paying to defend traffic that should be free.
4. Review your agency contract and deliverables. If an agency manages your Google Ads account, ask them directly: are you running campaigns that target competitor brand names as keywords? Get the answer in writing. If the answer is yes, discuss the exposure with your legal team before your next campaign review.
5. Flag this to your legal team. Not for immediate action, but for awareness. If a competitor is currently bidding on your registered trademark in India, you now have the option to act. Your legal team should know the ruling exists and understand what evidence is needed if you choose to pursue enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is competitor brand keyword bidding in Google Ads?
Competitor brand keyword bidding, also called brand conquesting, is the practice of purchasing a competitor’s brand name as a keyword in Google Ads so your ad appears when a user searches for that competitor. It has been a common performance marketing tactic globally for over a decade, used to intercept high-intent traffic from users who are already deep in the buying journey.
Is bidding on competitor keywords illegal in India after the Delhi High Court ruling?
As of May 2026, the Delhi High Court ruled in Hindware Ltd. v. Google LLC that bidding on a competitor’s registered trademark as a keyword constitutes trademark infringement under Section 29(6) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, even if the trademarked name doesn’t appear in the visible ad copy. This ruling applies to registered trademarks. If the competitor’s brand name is not a registered trademark in India, this specific ruling does not apply, though other legal risks may still exist.
Does this ruling apply to all keywords, or only brand name keywords?
The ruling specifically addresses the use of registered trademarks as keywords. It does not prohibit bidding on category keywords, generic terms, or competitor product descriptions that don’t include a registered trademark. The legal risk is specific to keywords that incorporate a registered brand name belonging to another company.
What is the difference between a brand keyword campaign and a competitor keyword campaign?
A brand keyword campaign targets your own brand name and its variations in Google Ads to ensure your ads appear when users search for you directly. A competitor keyword campaign (brand conquesting) targets another company’s brand name as a keyword to intercept that company’s traffic. The first is standard practice and recommended. The second is what the Delhi High Court ruling now classifies as trademark infringement in India when the targeted brand name is a registered trademark.
Can I still use competitor names in my ad copy in India?
Google’s policy restricts the use of competitor trademarks in visible ad copy (headlines, descriptions, and display URLs) in most cases, regardless of the Hindware ruling. The ruling goes further by addressing the use of trademarks as invisible backend keywords – the bidding layer – which Google’s policy had not previously restricted in India. For ad copy specifically, consult Google’s trademark policy and speak with an IP attorney.
Does this ruling affect Google Ads accounts outside of India?
The ruling is a Delhi High Court judgment and sets binding precedent within that court’s jurisdiction. It is highly persuasive in other Indian High Courts. It does not directly affect Google Ads advertisers operating exclusively outside India. However, if your campaigns target Indian users and you are bidding on Indian registered trademarks, the ruling may apply to you regardless of where your business is incorporated.
What should I do if a competitor is bidding on my brand keyword in India?
If your brand name is registered as a trademark in India and you have evidence that a competitor is bidding on it in Google Ads, you can file a trademark complaint directly with Google through their Trademark Complaint form for ads, or pursue a formal legal action against the advertiser under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, citing the Hindware ruling as precedent. Document the evidence before taking either step: advertiser domain, ad copy, landing URL, and date of observation. Consult an IP attorney before formal legal action.
How do I check if my competitor’s brand name is a registered trademark in India?
ou can search the Trade Marks Registry of India at ipindia.gov.in. Enter the brand name in the trademark search tool and check its registration status, class, and expiry date. A trademark must be registered and currently valid to be protected under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
Will Google change its keyword policy for India because of this ruling?
As of June 2026, Google has not announced a change to its India keyword policy following the Hindware ruling. The conflict between Google’s current global policy and the court ruling remains unresolved. Watch for policy updates from Google, and treat Indian law as the binding constraint regardless of what Google’s platform currently permits.
Conclusion
The Hindware ruling doesn’t create a new concept. It creates a new consequence for an old practice.
Bidding on competitor brand keywords has been a grey-area tactic in India for years. That grey area has been closed. If you’re targeting a competitor’s registered trademark as a keyword in Google Ads, you’re now operating with quantifiable legal risk in India. If a competitor is doing the same to you, you now have a judicial precedent to act on.
The practical response is straightforward: audit your keyword list, register your trademark if you haven’t, run a brand keyword campaign to protect your own traffic, and talk to your agency and your legal team.
Performance marketing moves fast. But legal exposure is the kind of thing that catches up slowly and then all at once.
If you want to build the kind of performance marketing knowledge that keeps up with changes like this one – strategy, attribution, creative, and the legal and platform shifts that affect how campaigns work – our 10-week Live Performance Marketing course covers all of it with active industry practitioners. Apply here.