Introduction For commercial brands, the race to secure a trademark is fought on two distinct fronts: at the registry desk and in the marketplace. Recently, the Delhi High Court has spotlighted this delicate balance in its ruling in Parle Products Pvt. Ltd. v. The Registrar of Trademarks & Anr.[1], and has reinforced that the rights of a senior adopter or the prior filer shall triumph over the rights of a subsequent user’s market evidence. This judgment underscores that eve

INTRODUCTION For years, Indian businesses have quietly watched their competitors lift their brand names off the search results page. By bidding per click on a rival’s trademark, your own sponsored link surfaces the moment a customer types that rival’s name. The Delhi High Court’s decision in Hindware Ltd. v. Grohe India Pvt. Ltd.- confronts the practice directly. The Court held that selling a registered trademark as an advertising keyword is itself an infringing “use in adver