Manasa Venkataraman Quoted in the Outlook Magazine

Manasa Venkataraman was quoted in an article with the Outlook Magazine on 26 February.The Competition Commission of India (CCI), fined Google Rs. 135.86 crores, effectively imposing a clamp-down on Google’s paid-for search results. The reason being Google having “abused its dominant position in online general web search and web search advertising services in India”. The penalty is to act as a deterrent and “reflect (the) seriousness of (the) infringement”.

Manasa Venkataraman, research associ­ate at the Takshashila Institution, agrees, saying the order did take into acc­ount Google’s measures to prevent and rectify any trademark infringement. Although the words Bharat and Matrimony “may have been trademarked together by Matrimony.com,” she says, “Google was not wrong in ­allowing Matrimony.com’s rivals from using minor variations by, say, bidding for ‘Bharat’ and ‘matrimony’ separately.”

The full article can be read here.