Trademark Owner As Director Of Applicant Company Not Enough To Seek Rival's Name Change: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High court has quashed two MCA orders directing companies run by Kandamkulathy Francis Paul to change their names after K. P. Pathrose Vaidyan's Kandamkulathy Vaidyasala Pvt. Ltd. sought rectification of their names under Section 16(1)(b) of the Companies Act.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas held that the company seeking the name changes did not itself hold the registered “Kandamkulathy” trademark. It therefore could not maintain the applications under Section 16(1)(b) of the Companies...

Calcutta HC Upholds Injunction Against 'IJM Gold Stag' For Trademark Infringement, Passing Off ITC's 'Gold Flake'

The Calcutta High Court has upheld an interim injunction against the use of “IJM Gold Stag” for cigarettes, finding sufficient similarity with ITC Limited's “Gold Flake” marks and packaging to make out a prima facie case of trademark infringement and passing off.A Division Bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya delivered the judgment on September 18, 2026. The bench also dismissed ITC's cross-objection, holding that the injunction granted by the Single Judge...

Delhi High Court Cancels 'LNK' Trademark Over Similarity With Basant Lal's 'L&K' Sanitary Products Mark

The Delhi High Court on 3 September cancelled the trademark “LNK”, registered by Shakti Hydraulic Engineers for sanitary products, after finding it deceptively similar to “L&K”, an older registered mark belonging to Basant Lal. Justice Jyoti Singh allowed Lal's petition and directed the Registrar of Trademarks to remove Shakti Hydraulic Engineers' “LNK” registration from the register and rectify it within eight weeks. The Bench observed: “LNK is deceptively similar, visually and...

Bombay High Court Rejects Baskin Robbins Licensee Graviss Foods' 'ICE CREAM ROCKS' Trademark Bid

The Bombay High Court on 16 September dismissed petitions filed by Graviss Foods, the Indian licensee of Baskin Robbins, challenging the Registrar of Trade Marks' rejection of its applications to register “ICE CREAM ROCKS”. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan observed that the phrase “ICE CREAM ROCKS” is too generic and descriptive to acquire distinctive character warranting trademark protection. The Bench observed: “Merely adding 'ROCKS' to 'ICE CREAM' does not turn the needle in favour of making...

Bombay Shaving Co. Takes Down Allegedly Disparaging Ad After Gillette Suit In Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court today noted that Visage Lines Personal Care Private Limited, the parent company of Bombay Shaving Company, has taken down a disputed advertisement after Gillette India filed a product disparagement suit. On a separate issue, Justice Jyoti Singh declined Gillette's request to immediately restrain a newly released advertisement by Bombay Shaving Company, saying the court would not intervene without a proper challenge being brought before it. “I am not going to permit you,...

Delhi High Court Restrains Real Estate Websites Using SignatureGlobal Marks And Project Material

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained a group of operators from running a string of lookalike websites that copied real estate developer SignatureGlobal's trademarks, branding, and copyrighted project material.Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on September 14, 2026, directing domain registrars—including GoDaddy, Hostinger, Namecheap, and Wix—to immediately lock and suspend nine rogue websites impersonating the real estate company's official portals.SignatureGlobal, a listed real...

Bombay Shaving Co. Agrees To Take Down Allegedly Disparaging Ad After Delhi HC Calls It 'Mockery Of Court'

Bombay Shaving Company on Wednesday agreed to take down an advertisement featuring a mock courtroom setting and a judge character after the Delhi High Court questioned the company over what it described as “outright mockery” of the court. Justice Jyoti Singh said, “I don't know what your client's definition of mockery is if this is not mocking the court,” after counsel for Bombay Shaving Company sought to defend the courtroom sequence. The court added, “Please don't even stand to defend...

Trademark Suits Cannot Be Tried By Courts Below District Court: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has ruled that a trademark infringement suit cannot be tried by a court below the District Court merely because its pecuniary value falls within the jurisdiction of a Munsiff Court.Justice Mohammed Nias C.P. held that “Given the above, the District Court, for the purposes of Section 134, has to be regarded as the lowest grade competent court to try a trade mark suit, under Section 15 CPC. To hold otherwise would result in a court inferior to the District Court ultimately...

Madras High Court Refuses Preethi Hospitals Permission To Sue Over 'S. Preethi' College Name

The Madras High Court has recently refused to grant leave to Madurai-based Preethi Hospitals Private Limited and Blossom Global Trust to sue an educational trust in Sivagangai over its use of the name “S. Preethi” for a group of colleges.Justice A.D. Maria Clete held that the applicants had not shown that any part of the cause of action arose within the court's Chennai jurisdiction. The court observed, “It is the act of the respondent pleaded to have been done within these local limits that the...

BECO's Ad Campaign Against HUL's Vim, Surf Excel Fails Permissible Comparative Advertising Test: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Thursday held that BECO's “War on What's Hidden” campaign against Hindustan Unilever's Vim and Surf Excel products prima facie fails the test of permissible comparative advertising.Justice A. J. Bhambhani granted HUL interim relief against the campaign.The advertisements included claims that Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS) and Benzisothiazolinone (BIT) “can cause skin irritation & allergic reactions”, along with directions to “SWITCH TO BECO”.Kwick Living has been...

Delhi High Court Injuncts Beco Ad Claiming Surf Excel, Vim Cause Skin Irritation, Allergies

The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction restraining Kwick Living (I) Private Limited, which operates the cleaning brand Beco, from continuing its advertisement campaign alleging that Hindustan Unilever Limited's Surf Excel and Vim cause skin irritation and allergies.Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani orally remarked, "I am injuncting your ad campaign."The order comes after nearly a month of hearings in the disparagement suit filed by HUL against Beco on comparative advertisements.HUL...

Telangana High Court Suggests Shift From 'Average Buyer' To 'Perceptive Consumer' Test In Trademark Cases

The Telangana High Court has observed that in the age of social media, the traditional test of assessing trademark confusion through the lens of a “person of average intelligence and imperfect recollection” should shift, to that of a “perceptive consumer with informed associations.”The observation came in a trademark dispute between saree retailer Sai Silks (Kalamandir) Limited, the registered proprietor of marks including “Kancheepuram Vara Mahalakshmi Silks” and “Vara Mahalakshmi”, and a rival...