Facebook Inc. & Anr. v. Surinder Malik & Ors.
In the High Court of Delhi
CM(M) 1263,1267/2019
Before Justice Prathiba M. Singh
Decided on August 28, 2019

Relevancy of the case: Personal appearance of intermediaries before the trial court in a trademark passing off suit

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 74, 79)
• The Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011 (Rule 3(4))
• The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Section 151, Order 10)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The trial court case was about restraining trademark infringement and passing off under Section 74 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 for ‘DA MILANO’.
• The plaintiff impleaded Facebook and Instagram (here the petitioner) to ensure that they take down the infringing posts.
• The trial court order required the appearance of the parties in person for examination under Order 10 CPC. The petitioner has sought exemption from personal appearance.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel submitted that they are willing to comply with the interim order. They state that their presence is not required since they don’t contest the matter and are merely intermediaries.

Opinion of the Bench

• Under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, “information” has been interpreted in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India to mean information received through a Court order.
• The court directed the platforms to remove the posts that use the trademark. The plaintiffs are to notify the platforms about the same.
• The court concluded that platforms are no longer required to appear before the trial court.

Final Decision

• The physical presence of the intermediaries was not required.

This case summary has been prepared by Mehula Liza Pallathu, an undergraduate student at the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2021.