Delhi High Court Grants Temporary Injunction Against 'Bait-and-Switch' News Site Using TOI Mark

The Delhi High Court has restrained an infringing website (www.timesofindiaa.news & ors.) from using the “TIMES OF INDIA” and “TOI” marks, granting an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Bennett Coleman and Company Limited.

On April 1, 2026, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela held that a prima facie case was made out in favour of the media house and that the balance of convenience lay in its favour.

“The balance of convenience also appears to be tilted in favour of the plaintiff at this stage. The plaintiff would suffer irreparable loss and injury to not only its reputation and goodwill but the financial and monetary loss to innocent intending advertisers from the public in general, which may not be adequately compensated in monetary terms in case ex-parte ad-interim injunction is not granted,” the court held.

Bennett Coleman and Company Limited had filed the suit against the operators of www.timesofindiaa.news and other associated entities, including intermediaries, seeking an injunction on grounds of trademark infringement, copyright infringement, passing off, and unfair competition.

The media house sought protection of its well-known “TIMES OF INDIA” and “TOI” marks after discovering that the defendants were allegedly employing a deceptive “bait-and-switch” stratagem to mislead users. This involved unauthorised use of its trademarks and device marks to attract internet users while reproducing and publishing its curated news content verbatim.

It further alleged that the defendants had lifted the bylines and names of its journalists, in effect passing off their work as original content, an act the plaintiff said violated not only its copyright but also the personality and publicity rights of its reporters.

The company also flagged how the defendants embedded hyperlinks redirecting users to the official Times of India website, while at the same time displaying its verified social media handles, moves that, it said, were meant to lend the platform a false sense of credibility.

In assessing the case, the Court took into account the plaintiff's 188-year legacy, its portfolio of registered trademarks, including recognition as a well-known mark, as well as its wide readership, financial strength and digital reach, before concluding that a strong prima facie case had been made out in its favour.

Accordingly, the Court restrained the website and all persons acting on its behalf from using the marks “TIMES OF INDIA”, “TOI”, or any identical or deceptively similar marks in any form, including as trademarks, trade names, domain names, logos, or in digital or physical media.

The court further restrained the defendants from scraping, reproducing, publishing or communicating to the public the plaintiff's copyrighted content, including news articles, features, bylines of journalists, the “TOI” device mark, and from imitating the website's user interface or trade dress.

The court directed domain name registrars and other intermediaries to take down the infringing website and related webpages upon being notified by the plaintiff, and to transfer such domain names to the plaintiff. They were also directed to disclose the basic subscriber information and registration details of the operators of the infringing website.

The matter is now listed before the Joint Registrar (Judicial) on July 09, 2026 for completion of service and pleadings, and before the Court on September 28, 2026.