Delhi High Court Lifts Injunction on Google and Booking.com in Trademark Dispute with MakeMyTrip

A division bench of the Delhi High Court, on December 14, lifted the injunction imposed on Google and Booking.com by travel technology company MakeMyTrip, allowing them to utilize registered trademarks as ‘keywords’ within the Google Ads Programme.

The court’s order stated, ‘Prima facie, we are unable to accept that MMT can claim any such right on the basis of its rights under the Trademark Act.’ Additionally, the court observed that considering Booking.com is a well-known platform providing travel services, an internet user is unlikely to be misled in any manner.

To provide context, MakeMyTrip had filed a complaint against Google and Booking.com, alleging that when users search for ‘MakeMyTrip’ on Google, the first result displayed is that of its competitor, Booking.com.

In 2019, MakeMyTrip initially issued a notice to Booking.com, urging them to cease bidding on the keyword ‘makemytrip’ through the Google Ads Programme. Subsequently, another cease-and-desist notice was issued to Booking.com in August 2020 for the same matter.