Akanksha Singh –
Published on: September 8, 2021, at 14:15 IST
The Delhi High Court has directed Google and Facebook to block or suspend 25 different websites and domain names accused for infringing on the trademark ‘Aaj Tak’ and misleading consumers to believe that these “anonymous” websites are still related to the brand in some way or the other.
The order was passed by a single judge bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait .
Earlier, the Court had barred four websites from using the trademark and observed that the widespread use and awareness of the plaintiff’s trademark and device/composite mark is evident if one has to take into account the figures relating to turnover and advertising expenditure.
Further, the court also extended the interim injunction order passed in September last year to apply to such websites and domain names, in which the court was of the view that the plaintiff company had established a prima facie case in its favour.
The development came in a lawsuit filed by Living Media India Ltd., a parent company of Aaj Tak, which submitted before the court that they were the owners of the trademark ‘Aaj Tak’ along with its equipment and the overall mark.
In the last hearing, Senior Advocate Darpan Wadhwa, appearing for Aaj Tak , had sought leave from the Court to file for relief seeking similar orders against other rogue websites. As a result, the plaintiffs sought several additional websites and prayed for the suspension of their domain names.
It was concluded by the Court that “ The proposed defendants were necessary parties and if they are not impleaded, prima facie it shall amount to immense loss of goodwill and reputation on account of the unlawful activities of these proposed defendants.”
Hence the bench, agreeing with the prima facie plaintiffs, granted ex-parte injunction in favour of Aaj Tak, directing Google and Facebook to block & suspend 25 pages.