TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT ON E-COMMERCE MARKETPLACES: RE-EXAMINING INTERMEDIARY LIABILITY UNDER INDIAN LAW

This article examines the evolving Indian standard for e-commerce marketplace liability for trademark infringement, tracing the doctrinal foundation laid in Christian Louboutin SAS v. Nakul Bajaj through two recent, seemingly divergent Delhi High Court decisions: PUMA SE v. IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd., which found a directory-style platform not liable, and Hindware Ltd. v. Google LLC, which found a keyword-advertising platform liable. It situates these decisions alongside the earlier keyword-advertising line of cases and briefly compares the Indian position with the United States and European Union, before considering what the resulting feature-by-feature liability standard means in practice for brand owners and platforms.