High Courts

Delhi High Court Upholds Rejection Of Blackberry Patent On Colour-Coding Message Recipients Feature
The Delhi High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Blackberry Limited, upholding the refusal of a patent application for a feature that colour-coded message recipients meant to help users distinguish between recipients before sending messages. In a judgment pronounced on April 30, 2026, Justice Tejas Karia held that the invention was unpatentable under Section 3(k) of the Patents Act as a computer program per se and also lacked an inventive step. The Court observed that the problem of...

Delhi High Court Rules 'The House of the Blue Mangoes' Does Not Infringe Sivasundari Bose's Work
The Delhi High Court has recently ruled that the novel 'The House of the Blue Mangoes' by David Davidar does not infringe the copyright claimed by author Sivasundari Bose, bringing an end to a dispute between the two that has stretched on for years. Delivering the judgment on April 30, 2026, Justice Tejas Karia said the similarities pointed out between the two works stemmed from shared historical context, cultural references, and familiar elements of multi-generational family sagas, material...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Entertain IT Rules Takedown Plea In Copyright Case; Allows Plea To Be Withdrawn
The Delhi High Court has observed that a direction to intermediaries to take down content on the basis of private copyright claims cannot be granted without a prior determination by a court, while dealing with a plea seeking removal of allegedly infringing content. “The private intermediaries cannot be expected to, in the absence of there being a finding rendered by a Court, to take down, suspend or block content, which is contended by an individual to be their intellectual property,” the court...

Madras High Court Restrains Apprehended Piracy Of 'Raja Shivaji,' Biopic On Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
The Madras High Court on Wednesday restrained apprehended copyright infringement of the Riteish Deshmukh-starrer “RAJA SHIVAJI,” observing that “irreversible injury would occur unless unlawful broadcast is prevented.” In an order dated April 29, 2026, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy granted ad-interim relief against internet service providers and cable TV operators arrayed as respondents in the suit. The film billed as the biopic on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is slated for release on May 1,...

Madras High Court Dismisses TTK's Passing Off Suit Against Godrej 'YUMMIEZ' Mark, Imposes ₹5 Lakh Costs
The Madras High Court has dismissed a suit filed by T.T. Krishnamachari & Co. seeking passing off relief against Godrej Agrovet Limited over the mark “YUMMIEZ”, and directed it to pay Rs.5 lakh as costs, noting the suit had been pending since 2007. On April 20, 2026, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy held that TTK failed to establish the case for passing off, observing: “Effectively, none of the elements constituting the classical trinity have been made out by the plaintiffs.” TTK stated...

'Gullible Public Being Misled': Bombay High Court Orders Takedown Of Fake DBS Bank WhatsApp Groups, Websites
Observing that the “gullible public” is being misled and that “time is of essence” as delays can cause “irreversible loss” in cases of financial fraud, the Bombay High Court has granted an ad-interim injunction restraining unidentified persons from impersonating DBS Bank India Limited and its officials. Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh, in an order dated April 21, 2026, directed platforms including WhatsApp and domain registrars to disable fraudulent profiles, groups, and websites used to mislead...

Delhi High Court Grants Temporary Injunction To Google's Waymo, Bars Use Of 'P-WAYMO' Mark
The Delhi High Court recently granted an ad interim injunction in favour of Waymo LLC, a subsidiary of Google's parent Alphabet Inc., restraining an Indian entity from using the mark “P-WAYMO” or any deceptively similar variant in a trademark dispute. A single-judge Bench of Justice Jyoti Singh said, “Having heard learned counsel for the Plaintiff and upon perusal of the documents, I am of the view that Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for grant of ad interim injunction against the...

Delhi High Court Restores Castrol's Disparagement Suit Against 3P Mark Owner, Says Claims Not Barred By Earlier Suit
The Delhi High Court has restored Castrol's suit alleging disparagement against the proprietor of the “3P” mark, Sanjay Sonavane, along with media entities holding that it was not barred by law as it was based on a different set of facts from an earlier case on trademark threats. A bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla said the two cases, though linked to the same dispute, were legally distinct. “That the suits may have emanated from a bouquet of similar, or even...

Delhi High Court Records Turio's Undertaking To Drop 'TRU-BACT', 'TU-BACT' Marks In GlaxoSmithKline Suit
The Delhi High Court has recently recorded an undertaking by Turio Pharmaceuticals Private Limited to stop using marks similar to “T-BACT” in a trademark suit filed by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited. Justice Jyoti Singh, on April 21, 2026, accepted an undertaking that Turio Pharmaceuticals, through its director Suresh Chaluvadi, shall not use the marks “TRU-BACT”, “TU-BACT” or any other mark identical or deceptively similar to GlaxoSmithKline's registered “T-BACT” mark or its...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Bars PMGIndia From Using 'PMG' Mark, Grants Relief To US Banknote Grading Company
The Delhi High Court recently restrained PMGIndia, a family-run business, and its proprietors from using the marks “PMG”, “PMGIndia”, “Paper Money Grading” or any deceptively similar mark, granting an ex parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Paper Money Guaranty LLC. Justice Jyoti Singh observed, “I am of the view that Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for grant of ex parte ad interim injunction against the Defendants. Balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff and it is...

Bombay High Court Removes 'PAXIL' Mark From Trade Marks Register Over 20 Years Of Non-Use
The Bombay High Court recently ordered the removal of the trademark 'PAXIL' from the Register of Trade Marks, holding that its proprietor, Shreya Life Sciences Private Limited, had held on to the mark without using it for nearly twenty years. Justice Arif S. Doctor observed that internal business decisions such as “expansion of business” cannot be used as a valid excuse for not using a trademark for long periods. “Respondent No. 1 has, after obtaining the impugned registration, simply...

Patna High Court Temporarily Restrains Local Company From Using 'Johnson' Mark For Paint Products
The Patna High Court has recently restrained Johnson Paints Private Limited from using the “JOHNSON” brand name, granting temporary relief to Johnson Paints Co.Setting aside a Commercial Court order that had refused an injunction, a Division Bench of Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Praveen Kumar found that the lower court erred in concluding that no prima facie case of prior use or goodwill was made out. Examining the respondent's claim of rights based on a chain of assignment deeds...
