High Courts

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Order Refusing Patent For Harvard's Insulin-Producing Pancreatic Cells
The Delhi High Court has set aside an order by the Controller General of Patents that refused a patent to Harvard College for its stem-cell-derived insulin-producing pancreatic cells used for diabetes treatment. Justice Tejas Karia held that the Patent Office committed an error by failing to consider the university's amended claims, which had significantly altered the nature of the application. Harvard had filed an appeal under Section 117 of the Patents Act against the Controller General...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Delhi High Court To Pass Interim Orders To Protect Actor Mohanlal's Personality Rights
The Delhi High Court on Friday indicated that it will grant interim protection to the personality rights of Malayalam actor Mohanlal, while asking him to first place the allegedly infringing material on record. Justice Jyoti Singh allowed Mohanlal's request to bring additional parties into the case. The court also directed him to circulate a compilation of the offending links to all defendants. The matter returns after the court had earlier permitted the actor to withdraw his interim plea,...

'Completely Identical': Delhi High Court Temporarily Injuncts Firm From Using Mark Identical To Marriott's THE EDITION
The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained Savya Realty LLP and its partners from using the mark "EDITION" for realty projects, holding it to be “completely identical” to Marriott International Inc.'s registered trademark 'THE EDITION' and likely to mislead consumers. On March 25, 2026, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela held that “the plaintiff has made out a prima facie strong case in its favour,” noting that “the overwhelming documents on record tilt the balance in favour of the plaintiff” and...
