In the matter of :-
BENNETT, COLEMAN AND COMPANY LIMITED & ANR. ….. Plaintiffs
Versus
PLANET MEDIA GROUP & ORS. ….. Defendants
Date of the Order:- 20.04.2023
Plaintiffs are part of Times Group which comprises of companies engaged in media and entertainment including radio, television, motion pictures, newspapers, magazines, event management, outdoor advertising, etc.
Multiple Trademarks of Plaintiffs
Plaintiffs along with its subsidiaries & business partners, publish magazines and newspapers in India, which included “Top Gear”, “Good Homes”, “Femina (Hindi)”, “Grazia”, “What to Wear”, etc. Plaintiffs are also proprietors of magazines such as “Filmfare”, “Femina”, “Hello”, etc. Times Group organizes and hosts the “Filmfare” awards, one of the oldest awards event in the field of entertainment and cinema in India.
Plaintiff No. 1 conceived an annual beauty pageant/ event in India under the brand/trade mark “MISS INDIA” in 1964. Initially, the event was organised under the sponsorship of Femina, however, there are also other sponsors/ licensees. In the Pagent the contestants are provided holistic training by a panel of experts. Thereafter, winners are profiled and promoted to compete in international pageants such as Miss Universe, Miss Earth, Miss International, etc.
Exclusive franchise of Plaintiff
Plaintiff No. 1 holds exclusive franchisee to nominate contestants to the aforenoted international beauty pageants Miss Universe, Miss Earth, Miss International, etc. .
Plaintiffs have extensively promoted their trade mark MISS INDIA and formative marks through extensive advertisements in various newspapers and magazines among other mediums, and have incurred significant expenses thereon.
Plaintiffs also operates the website “www.missindia.in”, which redirects its users to “www.beautypageants.indiatimes.com”, an online portal where updates are uploaded pertaining to MISS INDIA beauty pageant and other international beauty pageants.
Trademark Registrations of Plaintiff
Plaintiffs have also obtained registrations for the trade mark “MISS INDIA” and its formative marks in various classes, including Classes 38 and 41.
Defendants No. 1 and 2 were organizing a similar beauty pageant as that of Plaintiffs, under the mark “MISS INDIA WORLD” and “TAJ MISS INDIA/MISS INDIA TAJ”. This was also promoted on their websites “www.tajmissindia.com” and “www.planetmedia.co.in”, and social media posts on Facebook, wherein the Defendants were providing information pertaining to their event and also inviting registrations from all places, including Delhi, for the titles “MISS & MRS. UP”, “MISS & MRS. INDIA”, “MISS AND MRS. ASIA”, MISS & MRS. WORLD”, “MISS & MRS. UNIVERSE”. Defendant No. 2 was the Director of Defendant No. 1, and promoted the impugned titles through his Facebook account.
In September 2019, Plaintiffs discovered the unlawful activities of Defendants No. 1 and 2 through a YouTube video.
Ex parte Ad interim Injunction granted in favour of Plaintiff
On 23rd September, 2019, an ex parte ad interim injunction was passed in favor of the Plaintiffs against Defendants No. 1 and 2, which included directions for blocking their websites.
Domain name transferrred in the name of Plaintiff
Subsequently, vide order dated 16th December, 2019, Defendant No. 3 (GoDaddy.com LLC) and Defendant 4, (GoDaddy India Domains and Hosting Services Private Limited) were deleted from the array of parties on the undertaking that the impugned website “www.tajmissindia” would be transferred to Plaintiffs within one week. Said domain name are now transferred in favour of the Plaintiffs.
Defendants were proceeded ex-parte
On 25th April, 2022, fresh notice was issued, to be served by Plaintiffs through WhatsApp and text messages. Then, Plaintiffs filed an affidavit of service to that, till date, Defendants have not appeared, and despite multiple opportunities, have failed to file a written statement or an affidavit of admission/ denial. Defendants were proceeded exparte in terms of order dated 02nd February, 2023.
Hon’ble Court perused the documents and plaint which indicated that Defendants No. 1 and 2 have been dishonestly using Plaintiffs’ mark.
Defendants No. 1 and 2 use of Plaintiffs’ registered word mark “MISS INDIA” in the impugned title of the beauty pageants, their websites and social media account was with the sole intent of misrepresenting an association with Plaintiffs to dupe innocent members of the public and prospective participants of Plaintiffs’ beauty pageants.
The promotional material and posts uploaded on social media, i.e., Facebook pages and YouTube videos proved the mala fide intention of Defendants No. 1 and 2 was to ride upon the goodwill and reputation of the Plaintiffs.
The impugned pageants which were not connected to the Plaintiffs in any manner, were bound to create confusion and deception for the public, prospective participants and even sponsors, resulting in irreparable harm to Plaintiffs’ reputaton & business.
Permanent Injunction and Passing off prayer granted to Plaintiffs
In view of above, Hon’ble Court said that the acts of Defendants No. 1 and 2 amount to infringement and passing off Plaintiffs’ marks. Thus, prayer of Permanent Injunction and passing off were granted to the Plaintiffs, Prayer of Damages were not pressed by the plaintiffs.
Suit Decreed in favour of Plaintiffs
Suit was decreed in favour of Plaintiffs and against Defendants No. 1 and 2 in terms of prayers of the plaint.
Read, Reviewed & Edited by