Delhi High Court Protects Personality Rights Of 'Pookie Baba' Aniruddhacharya Ji Maharaj

The Delhi High Court has recently granted a temporary injunction restraining the unauthorised use of the persona of spiritual preacher Aniruddhacharya Ji Maharaj (Anil Kumar Tiwari) popularly known as 'Pookie Baba', observing that the threat to his reputation was “real and present.” Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, by an order dated March 30, 2026, passed directions against various unknown defendants while also directing social media platforms Meta, X and Google to take down identified infringing...

LiveLawBiz IPR Monthly Digest: March, 2026

SUPREME COURTSupreme Court Reserves Verdict In Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh's Plea To Quash Copyright Case Over Film Kahaani 2Case Title: Sujoy Ghosh vs State of Jharkhand & Ors Case Number: SLP (Crl) 9452/2025The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment in a plea filed by filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh seeking the quashing of criminal proceedings alleging copyright infringement in connection with the film Kahaani 2, which was declined by the Jharkhand High Court. A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri...

Delhi High Court Finds Mehra Brothers In Breach Of Settlement Concerning SUPERON Trademark

The Delhi High Court has found that brothers Sanjay Mehra and Sharad Mehra breached the court-recorded Terms of Settlement (family settlement) governing the “SUPERON” trademark, holding them guilty of wilful disobedience of the agreed intellectual property and territorial restrictions.The findings came on cross-contempt petitions filed by both sides, each accusing the other of violating the settlement. Consequently, it directed both of them to comply with the requirements of the...

Delhi High Court Orders Rakshit Shetty's Banner To Pay ₹25 Lakh Over Unauthorised Song Use In 'Bachelor Party'

The Delhi High Court has directed Kannada actor-director Rakshit Shetty's production house, Paramvah Studios, to deposit Rs 20 lakh as licence fee and imposed Rs 5 lakh as costs for contempt, holding that the unauthorised use of two Kannada film songs in Bachelor Party was purposeful and not trivial. A Bench of Justice Tejas Karia rejected the studio's de minimis defence, holding that “the application of the 'de minimis' or fair use standard is determined primarily by qualitative aspects rather...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Ex-Parte Interim Injunction on K.S. Oils' 'KALASH' Trademark, Notes CIRP Sale Of Company

The Delhi High Court on Monday set aside an ex parte ad interim injunction that had restrained K.S. Oils Limited from using the 'KALASH' trademark and has asked the Trial Court to take a fresh call on the injunction application. This allows them to use the mark for edible oils. The ruling came on March 30, 2026, from a division bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, which found that the trial court's conclusion on a prima facie case could not be sustained....

Bombay High Court Refuses MINCO Injunction Against Sister Concern Over 13-Year Acquiescence

The Bombay High Court has dismissed an appeal by Minco India Private Limited, affirming a Single Judge's decision to deny an interim injunction against Minco India Flow Elements Private Limited, a company run by the appellant's director's brother. The court found that the plaintiff had been aware of the defendant's use of the “MINCO” mark since 2012 yet chose not to act for over 13 years. That prolonged inaction, the bench held, amounted to clear acquiescence, a complete defence in a trademark...

Delhi HC Grants Temporary Injunction To Lawrence School, Bars Trademark Misuse, Orders Meta To Remove Defamatory Posts

The Delhi High Court has granted a temporary injunction in favour of Lawrence School Sanawar Society, which runs The Lawrence School in Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh, in a dispute over allegedly defamatory content posted about the institution on Facebook. The order targets a Facebook page and certain individuals. Educator Subodh Sinha, the page IPSC & Indian Top Schools Alumni (IITSA), and Ankit Kumar Gupta have been restrained, along with anyone acting on their behalf, from using the school's...

Delhi High Court Cancels Copyright On Bicycle Parts Label For Lack Of Originality

The Delhi High Court has cancelled the copyright registration of a product packaging label used by one Tara Singh for bicycle parts, holding that the sticker was a substantial imitation of Bombay Metal Works Pvt. Ltd.'s label in its layout, colour scheme and arrangement, despite bearing a different trade name. “It is trite law that Copyright protection is granted to an artistic work under the Act, only if the said artistic work satisfies the standard of originality,” Justice Tejas Karia said in...

LiveLawBiz IPR Weekly Digest: March 22 - March 28, 2026

HIGH COURTSDelhi High CourtDelhi High Court Asks Patanjali's Acharya Balkrishna To Narrow Down Grievances In His Personality Rights SuitCase Title: Acharya Balkrishna v. Ashok Kumar John Doe & Ors. Case Number: CS(COMM) - 291/2026Patanjali Ayurved co-founder and Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna has moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights against alleged deepfakes, misleading videos, and online misinformation. The court on Monday expressed reservations over...

Madras High Court Orders Removal of 'Sugar Pop' Device Mark On Plea By Sugar Cosmetics Brand

The Madras High Court has recently directed the removal of the 'SUGAR POP' device mark from the Register of Trade Marks on a plea by Sugar Brands Pvt. Ltd., holding that it was entered without sufficient cause due to lack of due diligence by the Registrar. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, in an order dated March 25, 2026, observed that the Registrar failed to properly search for conflicting marks despite the petitioner's existing registrations, leading to the wrongful entry of the impugned...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Injunction Against 'TULSI' Agarbatti Mark, Finds Prima Facie Infringement Of 'TULASI'

The Karnataka High Court has upheld an injunction restraining the use of the “TULSI” mark for agarbattis, holding that it is prima facie deceptively similar to the long-standing “TULASI” mark and not merely descriptive of fragrance.In a judgment delivered on March 25, 2026, Justice Ravi V. Hosmani held that Jallan Enterprises' use of the word “TULSI” was displayed in a trademark-like manner that prima facie infringed the long-standing registered mark “TULASI” of Sarathi International Inc.The...

Madras High Court Finds Geetham Restaurants Passed Off As Sangeetha For 17 Months, No Trademark Infringement

The Madras High Court has recently held that former franchisees of the Sangeetha restaurant chain were liable for passing off for about 17 months after ending their association but ruled that their use of the name “Geetham” did not amount to trademark infringement.In a judgment pronounced on March 25, 2026, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed that the defendants had dishonestly adopted a trade dress identical to the plaintiff's iconic red-and-green color scheme to mislead the public...