Bennett Coleman & Company Limited v. M. Akram Pasha
In the High Court of Delhi
CS (Comm) 828/2018
Before Justice Manmohan
Decided on August 08, 2018

Relevancy of the Case: Injunction to restrain the defendant from using a deceptively similar name for a news channel

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Copyright Act, 1957 (Section 2(c))
• The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Section )

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The plaintiff company, known as the Times Group, runs several print media platforms and engages in television broadcasting. The plaintiff uses its trademarks, such as TIMES and TIMES NOW, for its diverse media activities. The logo for the plaintiff’s channels is an artistic work, as per Section 2(c) of the Copyright Act, 1957.
• The defendant started operating a YouTube channel and website named NATIONAL TIMES NOW.
• The plaintiff seeks relief in this matter, restraining the defendant from using its copyrighted material and trademark infringement.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The plaintiff’s counsel submitted that the defendant’s name is deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s registered trademark. The defendant has adopted this name with malafide intent to gain mileage from the plaintiff’s goodwill and reputation.

Opinion of the Bench

• The defendant has not entered an appearance or filed a written statement. As such, he had no real prospect of defending the claim.
• Further, the plaintiff is the registered user of the trademark in question.

Final Decision

• The court passed an ex-parte decree in the plaintiff’s favour.

Anjini Pandey, an undergraduate student at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2022.