Consim Info, the company that runs matrimonial website BharatMatrimony, has filed a complaint against Google with the Competition Commission of India, alleging discriminatory trade practices related to AdWords reports The Economic Times. The report cites a senior CCI official, to inform that the case has been registered under section 3 & 4 of Competition Act 2002, and will be investigated separately from existing complaints against Google.
The report suggests that Bharat Matrimony has complained that Google sold keywords related to its website to rivals like Shaadi.com and Jeevansaathi.com. Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO of Consim Info confirmed that a complaint had been filed, but refused to comment on the exact nature of the complaint. We’ve requested the company for a copy of the complaint, and will update in case we have more information.
This is not the first time that Consim Info has taken an offensive against Google – the company had earlier taken Google, Jeevansathi, Shaadi and SimplyMarry to court for trademark infringement related to the sponsored competitive advertisements that appeared on Google search results, as well as during keyword suggestion for Google AdWords. It had demanded Rs 10.5 lakh as compensation for the infringement. We had pointed out how even BharatMatrimony was buying keywords and showing up in ads when searching for competition, to which Janakiraman had responded that Google should stop everyone including Consim.
Last year, Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), a non profit consumer advocacy group, had also filed a Preliminary Information Report with the Competition Commission, urging the agency to investigate “the potential anticompetitive conduct of Google in the Indian internet, e-commerce market, online advertising and related markets.”