Supreme Court Directs Princeton-Named Telangana Colleges To Publish Disclaimer Stating No Connection With US University

The Supreme Court has directed six Telangana colleges operating under the "Princeton" name to prominently state on their websites, prospectuses, admission material, and certificates that they have "no connection whatsoever with Princeton University, New Jersey, United States of America."

The Court observed that "students may well be misled by the use of its name by others offering educational courses."

A bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran passed the order on May 29 while disposing of petitions arising from a trademark dispute between Princeton University and the Vagdevi Educational Society, which runs six colleges under the Princeton name in Telangana.

While leaving undisturbed a September 2025 Delhi High Court order, the Supreme Court imposed additional safeguards. The High Court had allowed the existing institutions to continue operating under the Princeton name but restrained the society from opening any new institution under that name during the pendency of the suit.

Explaining the need for further directions, the bench held, "In that view of the matter, we deem it appropriate to add further conditions, in addition to what has been imposed by the Division Bench of the High Court, to safeguard its interest and also the interests of prospective students of the respondents' institutes/colleges."

The court directed the colleges to publish the disclaimer on their websites, prospectuses, and all admission-related material. The disclaimer on the website must be displayed in the largest font size used on the page.

The institutions were also directed to publish quarter-page notices in Deccan Chronicle and Eenadu on June 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12, 2026, stating that they have no connection with Princeton University.

The colleges must also put up boards outside their campuses carrying the same disclaimer. Any certificates issued to students must prominently state that the institutions have no connection with Princeton University in the United States.

The dispute traces back to a trademark suit filed in 2022 by the Trustees of Princeton University against the Vagdevi Educational Society, which has been running colleges under the Princeton name in Telangana since 1991.

A Single Judge of the Delhi High Court had earlier declined interim relief to Princeton University, holding that the society was entitled to protection as a prior user of the mark.

That finding was partly overturned in September 2025 by a Division Bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Renu Bhatnagar. The Division Bench held that Princeton University had made out a prima facie case in the trademark dispute.

Even so, the court stopped short of granting a blanket injunction. Noting that the society had been using the Princeton name for more than three decades and operated only within Telangana, it barred the opening of any new institution under that name while allowing the existing six colleges to continue functioning.

The Supreme Court left those findings untouched. It clarified that all questions on the merits of the dispute will be decided in the suit pending before the Delhi High Court.

At the same time, the Division Bench found that the balance of convenience and irreparable injury tests did not justify a complete injunction. It therefore restrained the society from opening any new institution under the Princeton name while permitting the existing six institutions to continue functioning, subject to filing six-monthly affidavits of receipts.

The top court did not interfere with those findings. It clarified that all issues on merits remain open for consideration in the pending suit before the Delhi High Court.