TRADEMARK
DELHI HC RESTRAINS UNAUTHORISED USE OF RATAN TATA'S NAME
Sir Ratan Trust and Tata Sons (Petitioners) filed a lawsuit
before the Delhi HC against journalist Dr. Rajat Srivastava &
others (Defendants). The suit was filed to seek a permanent
injunction to restrain the Defendants from infringing the
trademarks "TATA" & "TATA TRUST", the
copyrighted logo "TATA TRUST", and the rights associated
with the well-known personal name and photograph of prominent
industrialist and philanthropist, the late Ratan Tata. The
Defendants used the protected elements associated with the famous
personality to host an award show while collecting nomination fees
and falsely claiming affiliation with the Trust, the Tata group,
and the late Mr. Ratan Tata.
The HC ruled in favor of the Petitioners and observed that the
Defendants' use of the marks, name, logo, and photograph was
unauthorized and fraudulent. It was designed to exploit the
goodwill associated with the Tatas for personal publicity and
financial gains and thereby mislead the general public.
(1) http://Sir Ratan Tata Trust & Anr. vs Dr. Rajat Shrivastava & Ors., CS(COMM) 104/2025
TRADEMARK
NBFCs VIE FOR TRADEMARK DOMINANCE
Svamaan Financial Services, an NBFC (Plaintiff) established in
2017, has secured an injunction against Samman Capital
(Defendants), part of the Indiabulls group for infringement of the
Plaintiff's mark "SVAMAAN", in the Delhi HC. The
Plaintiff claimed that the Defendants had infringed its mark and
had engaged in passing off of the same. The Defendants formerly
known as Indiabulls in 2024 rebranded itself as "SAMMAN"
as a part of a strategic shift to focus on mortgage lending,
thereby becoming a direct competitor of the Plaintiff.
The HC compared the two marks and found them to be phonetically and
structurally similar. Further, the HC observed that the Defendants
acted with malafide intentions, and were continuing to use the mark
even after receiving a notice from the Plaintiff. The Defendants
even subsequently attempted to register its new name. Accordingly,
the HC ruled in favor of the Plaintiff, restraining the Defendants
from using the "SAMMAN" mark or any other mark
deceptively similar to "SVAMAAN" in its business
operations.
(1) Svamaan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd., vs. Samman Capital Ltd. & Ors., CS(COMM) 871/2024
TRADEMARK
BOMBAY HC SEEKS REPORT IN HAJI ALI TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT SUIT
In the ongoing trademark infringement suit filed before the
Bombay HC by Asma Farid Noorani concerning the "Haji Ali"
trademark, an interim application was filed alleging a Kerala-based
juice outlet's blatant disregard for the HC's previously
issued ex-parte injunction order in the suit. The application
stated that the outlet continued to operate under the name
"Haji Ali Fresh Juices," offering its services through
online platforms like Zomato and Swiggy, and directly violating the
HC's ex-parte order against such use.
The HC has directed its Court Receiver and Additional Special
Receiver to investigate the Kerala outlet's compliance with the
ex-parte order. Furthermore, recognizing the need to establish
clear ownership and accountability, the HC has ordered the Kerala
outlet to disclose the identities and addresses of its owners
within one week.
(1) Asma Farid Noorani vs. Haji Ali Fresh Fruit Juices & Anr., COMMIP 301/2023
COPYRIGHT
JAWED HABIB SECURES INTERIM RELIEF AGAINST FRANCHISEE
The Bombay HC has granted interim relief to celebrity
hairstylist Jawed Habib's company in a trademark and copyright
infringement case against his former franchisee, Rashid Molla. The
Company filed the suit in 2023 alleging infringement of its
registered mark "The Jawed Habib", "Jawed Habib Hair
& Beauty" and "JH Logo", as well as the
copyrighted artwork in its logo, following an early termination of
the franchise agreement. The agreement was terminated due to
non-payment of royalties.
The HC order restrains Molla from any further infringement of
Habib's proprietary rights, specifically prohibiting the use of
its registered marks, logo, and artistic labels. Additionally, the
HC also directed Molla to provide an accurate inventory of all
stock in his possession and appointed a Court Receiver till the
final disposal of the suit.
(1) Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty Limited vs. Rashid Molla; COMMIP 170/2023
COPYRIGHT
REUTERS V. ROSS: A BELLWETHER FOR AI COPYRIGHT LAW
Thomson Reuters, a Canadian multinational content-driven
company, filed a lawsuit against Ross Intelligence, an AI-based
legal research platform, in the Delaware District Court. Thomson
Reuters alleged copyright infringement of its well-known online
legal research firm Westlaw, which provides access to a vast
database of legal information. It claimed that Ross took the
headnotes to make it easier to develop a competing legal research
tool.
The Court partially granted summary judgment to Thomson Reuters in
its copyright infringement suit against Ross, finding that
Ross's use of over 2,000 Westlaw headnotes was not
transformative and likely infringed Thomson Reuters'
copyrights. The ruling is significant while the copyright status of
another 5,000+ headnotes will go to a jury trial. Judge Bibas's
opinion, reversing an earlier decision, emphasizes that using
copyrighted material to build a competing AI product does not
constitute fair use. Notably, this case, involving non-generative
AI, is a leading case on AI and copyright infringement and is
already being cited in other AI copyright disputes.
(1) Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH v. Ross Intelligence Inc., D. Del., No. 1:20-cv-00613, opinion filed 2/11/25
PATENT
PATENT DISPUTE BETWEEN TRINA & CSI ESCALATES
Trina Solar, a Chinese PV manufacturer, has filed a lawsuit in
the Jiangsu High People's Court against Canadian Solar Inc.
(CSI) and its Chinese subsidiary (Defendants), alleging
infringement of two patents acquired from a Japanese company namely
"Solar Cell Module" (ZL201710975923.2) and "Solar
Cell and its Manufacturing Method" (ZL201510892086.8).
Trina is seeking RMB (Renminbi- Chinese Yuan) 1.058 billion in
damages and an injunction to stop the Defendants from manufacturing
and selling infringing PV modules and other products, as well as
the destruction of existing inventory. This legal action follows a
previous lawsuit filed by Trina against CSI and its US subsidiaries
in the Delaware District Court concerning two of its TOPCon
technology patents.
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