Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Ahmedabad Firm From Using VOLVO Trademark For Elevator Parts

The Delhi High Court has granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction restraining Ahmedabad-based elevator components manufacturer Shree Vishwakarma Engineering Works from using the mark "VOLVO" or any deceptively similar mark in relation to elevator components.

Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on July 22 in a trademark infringement suit filed by Swedish automotive company Aktiebolaget Volvo and its group companies.

The Volvo group said it adopted the trademark and trade name "VOLVO" on May 11, 1915. It added that its earliest Indian registration dates back to September 10, 1975 in a class which covers goods including shafts, shaft seals, gear wheels, springs, gearboxes, pulleys, drive chains, and belts.

It also told the court that the Trade Marks Registry had recognised VOLVO as a well-known trademark following the Bombay High Court's ruling in Aktiebolaget Volvo of Sweden v. Volvo Steels Ltd. of Gujarat (India), giving it the highest level of protection across classes, including for dissimilar goods and services.

According to the suit, the Volvo group came across the Ahmedabad-based business's website during a market survey in March 2026, where it found the word "VOLVO" being used as part of a logo for elevator components.

Comparing the rival marks, Justice Jyoti Singh observed that "the rival marks are visually deceptively similar since the dominant feature in them is the word 'VOLVO' and there is complete phonetic identify in the marks." The court said the elevator components manufacturer was prima facie infringing Volvo's registered and well-known trademark.

The court also found that the use of the mark diluted the distinctiveness of the VOLVO trademark and amounted to passing off. Since the Volvo group had made out a prima facie case, with the balance of convenience in its favour and the likelihood of irreparable harm if interim relief was refused, the court restrained the Ahmedabad-based business and anyone acting on its behalf from using the impugned marks or any deceptively similar mark in relation to the impugned goods, including elevators, until the next hearing.