Delhi High Court To Pass Interim Orders In Universal Studios' Suit Against PlayIMDb's Piracy Mechanism

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...

Bombay High Court Grants Interim Relief Protecting Ahmed Perfumes' Arabic Logo, Refuses Passing Off Relief

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...

Supreme Court Stays Patna HC Order Restraining Local Company From Using “JOHNSON” Trademark, Issues Notice

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. A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, while issuing notice, directed Johnson Paints Pvt Ltd to furnish an undertaking that it would...

Jioo Organics Agrees To Drop Reliance, Jio-Like Marks In Settlement Before Delhi High Court

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. The...

Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With Bombay HC Order Protecting 'GERMINATOR' Trade Dress

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...

Telangana High Court Temporarily Bars PPL From Coercing Hyderabad Bar To Obtain Music Licence

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...

Supreme Court of India Upholds HC Order Allowing Grasim Additional Evidence In BIRLA Trademark Row

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...

Delhi High Court Orders Cancellation Of Indian Firm's 'ALPHARD' Trademark Registrations In Favour Of Toyota

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...

Delhi High Court Restrains Brahmastra Pharmacy From Using 'STAND UP' Mark Over Trade Dress Similarity

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. He held: "the mark 'STAND UP'...is...

MasterChow Agrees To Stop Using Dhurandhar Character In Its Ad; Bombay HC Records Settlement In Jio's Suit

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...

Bombay High Court Restrains United Biotech From Using 'OTIDE' Mark In Dispute With Sun Pharma

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...

LiveLawBiz IPR Weekly Digest: April 26 - May 2, 2026

SUPREME COURTSupreme Court Issues Notice On Plea Against Delhi HC Ruling That Patent Revocation Plea Survives ExpiryCase Title: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. v. The Controller Of Patents & Anr. Case Number: SLP (C) 13704 OF 2026The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a plea challenging a Delhi High Court ruling that a patent revocation petition remains maintainable and survives even after expiry of the patent and is not barred merely because an invalidity defence is raised...