LiveLawBiz IPR Weekly Digest: May 3 - May 10, 2026
Riya Rathore
11 May 2026 2:32 PM IST
SUPREME COURT
Supreme Court of India Upholds HC Order Allowing Grasim Additional Evidence In BIRLA Trademark Row
Case Title: Saboo Tor Pvt Ltd v. Grasim Industries Ltd & Ors
Case Number: Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 14099/2026
Citation: 2026 LLBiz SC 175
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with the Bombay High Court's order permitting Grasim Industries to place additional documents on record in its trademark dispute with Saboo Tor Pvt Ltd over the use of the “BIRLA” mark. A bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and S.V.N. Bhatti held that the high court, in its April 6, 2026 order, had rightly exercised its discretion under Order XLI Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which permits additional evidence at the appellate stage in certain circumstances, finding no ground to interfere with the impugned order.
Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With Bombay HC Order Protecting 'GERMINATOR' Trade Dress
Case Title: Anannya Agro Products & Anr. v. Dr. Bawaskar Technology (Agro) Pvt.Ltd.
Case Number: Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s).15386/2026
Citation: 2026 LLBiz SC 177
The Supreme Court recently (May 4) dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by Anannya Agro Products challenging a Bombay High Court order granting interim injunction in favour of Dr. Bawaskar Technology (Agro) Pvt. Ltd. in a trademark and trade dress dispute concerning the mark “GERMINATOR”. A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Vijay Bishnoi found no error in the High Court's March 16 order, stating: “We find no error, not to speak of any error of law said to have been committed by the High Court in passing the impugned order.”
Case Title: Johnson Paints Private Limited v. Johnson Paints Co.
Case Number: SLP(C) No. 16523/2026
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Patna High Court's April 24, 2026 order granting a temporary injunction restraining Johnson Paints Pvt. Ltd. from manufacturing, selling, or advertising paint and cement paint products under the “JOHNSON” mark or any deceptively similar variant in an ongoing trademark dispute with Johnson Paints Co.
HIGH COURTS
Delhi High Court
Delhi High Court Restrains EaseMyBiz From Launching App, Website In MakeMyTrip Trademark Dispute
Case Title: Makemytrip India Private Limited v. Easemybiz Technologies LLP
Case Number: CS(COMM) - 464/2026
The Delhi High Court on Monday restrained EaseMyBiz Technologies LLP, by an interim order, from launching its proposed courier services app or activating its website under the name “EaseMyBiz” in a trademark suit by MakeMyTrip India. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela clarified that the restriction is limited to the defendant's digital platforms, noting that the app is still under development and the domain remains inactive. The court made it clear that the defendant's courier business can continue.
Delhi High Court Refuses Doctors Without Borders' Plea to Restrain Use of Its Mark In Jigra Film
Case Title: Médecins Sans Frontieres International v. Dharma Productions Private Limited & Ors.
Case Number: CS(COMM) 1134/2024
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 452
The Delhi High Court recently refused to grant Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian organisation also known as Doctors Without Borders, an interim injunction against Dharma Productions over the use of its trademark in the 2024 Bollywood film Jigra. The High Court instead directed the makers to display an acknowledgement at the start of the film clarifying that the use of the Doctors Without Borders mark was not intended to harm its reputation.
Delhi High Court Directs Xiaomi To Deposit ₹272 Crore In SEP Infringement Suit By Malikie
Case Title: Malikie Innovations Ltd & Anr. v. Xiaomi Corporation & Ors.
Case Number: CS(COMM) 734/2025 & I.A. 17509/2025
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 453
The Delhi High Court has asked Xiaomi Corporation to deposit around ₹272 crore (about $28.7 million) as pro tem security in a patent infringement suit involving cellular Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) brought by Malikie Innovations. In its April 30, 2026 judgment, Justice Tejas Karia said a temporary arrangement of this kind was needed to balance the equities between the parties as the case proceeds.
Case Title: Mold-Tek Packaging Limited v. Pronton Plast Pack Pvt. Ltd.
Case Number: CS(COMM) 944/2024, CC(COMM) 31/2024, CRL.M.A. 32922/2024, I.A. 43924/2024, I.A. 43928/2024 & I.A. 43929/2024
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 454
The Delhi High Court has granted and continued an interim injunction in favour of Mold-Tek Packaging Limited, restraining Pronton Plast Pack Pvt. Ltd. and its agents from manufacturing or selling plastic containers and lids that prima facie infringe two patents held by Mold-Tek. Justice Tejas Karia, in a judgment pronounced on April 30, 2026, held that Mold-Tek had made out a prima facie case of patent infringement and that permitting Pronton to continue dealing in the impugned products would result in irreparable harm.
Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains TechWiser, TechBar From Disparaging AI+ Smartphones
Case Title: Nxtquantum Shift Technologies India Private Limited (Trading As Ai+ Smartphones) & Anr. v. John Doe & Ors.
Case Number: CS(COMM) 429/2026
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 457
The Delhi High Court recently granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of NxtQuantum Shift Technologies India Private Limited, which trades as AI+ Smartphones, and its founder, Madhav Sheth. The order was passed on April 28, 2026. The court restrained unknown parties and the YouTube channels TechWiser and TechBar from publishing or spreading any content that amounts to disparagement of the plaintiffs on YouTube or any other social media or digital platform.
Case Title: Pstgems Private Limited v. M/S Brahmastra Pharmacy & Ors.
Case Number: CS(COMM) 461/2026
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 460
The Delhi High Court on 30 April restrained Brahmastra Pharmacy from using the mark 'STAND UP' along with its label and trade dress in a suit filed by PSTGems Private Limited and found prima facie similarity warranting injunctive relief. A Bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that interim protection can be granted against adoption of a deceptively similar trademark and trade dress when visual comparison indicates a likelihood of consumer confusion.
Case Title: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha v. Tech Square Engineering Pvt Ltd & Anr.
Case Number: LPA 176/2023 & CM APPL. 11804/2023
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC(DEL) 466
The Delhi High Court has allowed Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha's appeal and directed removal of the trademark 'ALPHARD' from the Indian Trade Marks Register, holding that the Japanese automaker had established spill-over reputation of the mark in India prior to Tech Square Engineering Pvt. Ltd.'s registration of the mark. A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla, in a judgment pronounced on May 4, cancelled Tech Square's ALPHARD trademark registrations covering automobile-related goods and directed the Registrar of Trade Marks to remove them from the register.
Jioo Organics Agrees To Drop Reliance, Jio-Like Marks In Settlement Before Delhi High Court
Case Title: Reliance Industries Limited v. Pawan Kumar Gupta & Ors.
Case Number: CS(COMM) 675/2025
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 470
The Delhi High Court has restrained a trader accused of using marks deceptively similar to Reliance Industries' registered trademarks “RELIANCE” and “JIO”. after both the parties entered into settlement. A bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela recorded a settlement between Reliance Industries and a trader, who was operating under the trade name “Jioo Organics”. Reliance Industries had filed the suit against Pawan Kumar Gupta and others, alleging trademark infringement and passing off.
Case Title: Universal City Studios Productions LLP v. Playimdb.Com & Ors.
Case Number: CS(COMM) - 492/2026
The Delhi High Court on Friday indicated that it would pass orders in a copyright infringement suit filed by Universal City Studios Productions LLLP against PlayIMDb.com and several other alleged rogue streaming platforms. During the hearing before Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, Universal City Studios detailed what it described as an “ingenious” piracy mechanism through which rogue websites exploit IMDb's infrastructure to facilitate unauthorized streaming of films, including Fast X, the tenth main installment and eleventh overall film in the Fast & Furious franchise, produced by Universal Pictures.
Case Title: Trimurti Films Private Limited v. B62 Studios Private Limited & Ors.
Case Number: CS(COMM) - 378/2026
The Delhi High Court on Friday sharply questioned Trimurti Films on Friday over its nearly decade-long inaction after objecting in 2016 to the same alleged copyright infringement, asking why it had kept quiet for years before seeking to restrain the OTT release of Dhurandhar: The Revenge over the use of the iconic Tridev song Oye Oye. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was openly skeptical of the plaintiff's case and remarked, “In spite of sending a notice in 2016 in respect of Azhar, you are keeping quiet thereafter. Does it come in your favour?”
Case Title: Shashi Tharoor v. Ashok Kumar & Ors.
Case Number: CS(OS) 414/2026 & I.A. Nos. 12907/2026, 12908/2026, 12909/2026, 12910/2026, 12911/2026 & 12912/2026
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 475
The Delhi High Court on Friday granted an interim injunction to Congress MP and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor, restraining unknown parties from using artificial intelligence and related technologies to create and circulate deepfake videos falsely attributing politically sensitive statements to him. Justice Mini Pushkarna on May 8 directed X (formerly Twitter) to forthwith take down and block access to the infringing content identified in the suit while directing Meta to ensure that the Instagram URLs already made inaccessible remain so.
Bombay High Court
Case Title: Grasim Industries Limited & Anr. v. Saboo Tor Private Limited & Ors.
Case Number: INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.2849 OF 2026 IN COMMERCIAL APPEAL (L) NO.39319 OF 2025
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (BOM) 253
The Bombay High Court has allowed Grasim Industries and UltraTech Cement to place additional evidence on record in their trademark dispute with Saboo Tor Pvt Ltd over the use of the word “BIRLA”. The court said the documents are relevant for deciding the appeal and could not be produced earlier despite due diligence. A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande passed the order while hearing an appeal against the refusal to grant an interim injunction. The earlier decision had declined to restrain Saboo Tor from using marks such as “BIRLA TMT” during the pendency of the suit.
Bombay High Court Restrains United Biotech From Using 'OTIDE' Mark In Dispute With Sun Pharma
Case Title: Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited v. United Biotech Private Limited
Case Number: INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO. 19536 OF 2025 IN COMMERCIAL IP SUIT (L) NO. 19268 OF 2025
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (BOM) 260
The Bombay High Court on 4 May granted an interim injunction in favour of Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited and restrained United Biotech Private Limited from using the mark OTIDE. Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh, held that phonetic similarity between pharmaceutical marks OCTRIDE and OTIDE is sufficient to establish a prima facie case of passing off. However, she declined relief on the infringement claim. She observed: “The incorrect pronunciation of trade marks used for marketing medicines is not uncommon.”
Case Title: Reliance Industries Limited v. Masterchow Foods Private Limited & Ors.
Case Number: COMMERCIAL IP SUIT (L) NO. 14751 OF 2026
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (BOM) 261
A dispute over the use of the Dhurandhar film character 'Jameel Jamali' in an advertisement has been settled before the Bombay High Court, with Reliance Industries Limited's Jio Studios resolving its case against MasterChow Foods Private Limited. Jio Studios had objected to an advertisement created by MasterChow that featured the character 'Jameel Jamali' from Dhurandhar, along with behind-the-scenes footage from the film. The company said this amounted to copyright infringement in the character.
Case Title: Ahmed Perfumes LLC & Anr. v. Mohammed Faisal Rehman Sultan Ahmed Shamsi & Ors.
Case Number: INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 1405 OF 2026 IN COMMERCIAL IP SUIT NO. 711 OF 2025
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC(BOM) 277
The Bombay High Court has granted an interim copyright protection to UAE-based Ahmed Perfumes against a Mumbai perfume trader over alleged copying of its Arabic calligraphic logo but refused interim passing off relief after finding the company had failed to show goodwill and a customer base in India. In an order pronounced on May 7, Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh restrained Mohammed Faisal Rehman Sultan Ahmed Shamsi and his associated entities, Al Ahmed India and Ahmed Al Maghribi LLP, from reproducing the plaintiffs' Arabic calligraphic logo, holding that it qualified as an original artistic work protected in India.
Calcutta High Court
Calcutta High Court Says Vodafone Needs IPRS Licence To Use Songs As Caller Tunes
Case Title: Vodafone Idea Limited v. The Indian Performing Right Society Limited
Case Number: A.O (COM) No. 17 of 2024, CS-COM 140 OF 2024, IA NO. GA-COM 1 OF 2024, GA-COM 2 OF 2024, GA-COM 3 OF 2024
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (CAL) 108
The Calcutta High Court on Friday held that Vodafone Idea Limited cannot commercially exploit the underlying musical and literary works embedded in sound recordings used for caller tunes and ringtones without obtaining permission from the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS). IPRS is a copyright society that manages copyright licences for musical and literary works on behalf of rights holders.
Case Title: ARS Steels And Alloy International Private Limited v. The Controller Of Patents And Designs & Ors.
Case Number: IPDAID/43/2024
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (CAL) 106
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday set aside an order of the Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs rejecting ARS Steels and Alloy International Private Limited's application to cancel the registered design of a double “XX-Rib” pattern on construction rods held by Souvik Steels Private Limited. Holding the order unsustainable, the court said the Controller's finding that there was “no scope of enquiry” into similar products already being available in the market was “perverse.”
Karnataka High Court
Case Title: Santosh Kumar .R.S v. Aditya Dhar & Ors.
Case Number: WRIT PETITION No.10911/2026 (C)
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (KAR) 59
The Karnataka High Court has recently dismissed a writ petition filed by Bengaluru-based filmmaker Santosh Kumar R.S., who had alleged that the Aditya Dhar-directed Hindi film Dhurandhar-2 was a plagiarised version of his original script titled D-Saheb. Justice K.S. Hemalekha held that the petition was not maintainable, observing that writ jurisdiction under Article 226 is discretionary and ordinarily not exercised when an efficacious alternative remedy is available, and directing the petitioner to pursue remedies before a civil court under the Copyright Act of 1957.
Telangana High Court
Telangana High Court Temporarily Bars PPL From Coercing Hyderabad Bar To Obtain Music Licence
Case Title: Dark Horse Hospitality And Events LLP v. Union of India & Ors.
Case Number: WP 14603/2026
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC(TEL) 29
The Telangana High Court on May 4, 2026 granted interim protection to a Hyderabad restaurant and bar, restraining Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) from coercing it to obtain a music licence until the next hearing on June 19. Justice Renuka Yara was hearing a writ petition filed by Dark Horse Hospitality and Events LLP, which runs Babylon Bar and Kitchen in Jubilee Hills. The establishment has challenged what it describes as an unlawful attempt by PPL to compel businesses to obtain licences for publicly communicating sound recordings.