Bombay High Court Grants Relief To NSE, Orders Suspension Of Domains, Takedown of Trademark-Infringing Accounts

The Bombay High Court has recently granted ad interim relief to the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd, restraining unknown persons from infringing its “NSE” trademark and directing social media intermediaries and domain name registrars to remove or disable infringing accounts, channels, and domain names.

Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh, in an order dated April 10, 2026, held that such a measure was necessary in public interest. “Considering the fact that an unsuspecting investor can be drawn into investing substantial amounts based on the contents of the infringing accounts purportedly giving guidance pertaining to the stock market and using the Plaintiff's registered trade mark, the use of such infringing activity is liable to be restrained in larger public interest.”

The exchange approached the court after identifying multiple fake social media accounts, YouTube channels and websites, including 'www.nsetrend.com' which used its registered trademark and branding to mislead users, induce stock investments, and, in at least one instance, dupe a senior citizen investor through impersonation.

NSE submitted that it is a premier Market Infrastructure Institution and an institution of national importance forming part of India's critical national infrastructure and alleged that unknown persons were creating fake accounts and uploading content falsely projected as emanating from the exchange, amounting to infringement and passing off.

The court noted that NSE, by virtue of registration of its trademark “NSE”, has an exclusive statutory right over its use, and held that such infringing activity warranted restraint in the larger public interest.

Clarifying the scope of its order, the court said, “Such a restraint cannot be construed as laying any fetter on the right of an individual to express his opinion or view or project or predict the stock market or give any financial advice however, the same cannot be purportedly under the aegis of the Plaintiff which is the likely consequence of the use of the registered trade mark"

Rejecting a contention raised on behalf of one of the intermediaries that some channels using the mark “NSE” were unrelated to stock market content, the court held that statutory trademark protection is not dependent on the nature of the content in which the infringing mark is used.

The court further observed, “Insofar as the registration or operation of a domain name using the trade mark 'NSE' is concerned, it is well settled that the use of mark which is identical/deceptively similar to a registered trade mark as part of a domain name constitutes infringement.”

Referring to its July 2024 order, as modified in May 2025, the court reiterated that intermediaries must act within 36 hours of notice from NSE to take down infringing content, in line with the Information Technology Rules.

In its directions, the court ordered social media intermediaries to remove or disable infringing accounts and channels, including those impersonating NSE or its officials and offering stock tips or investment advice, within 36 hours of being notified by NSE, subject to the exchange furnishing supporting evidence such as screenshots and URLs. The directions also extend to future infringing content upon being brought to the intermediaries' notice.

At the same time, the court clarified that intermediaries would be at liberty to approach the court in cases where they dispute whether the identified content amounts to infringement.

The court also directed domain name registrars to suspend and lock the domain names 'www.nsetrend.com' and 'www.nseservice.in' and prevent their transfer during the subsistence of their registration, while restraining further registration of deceptively similar domain names using the “NSE” mark.