In a trademark infringement lawsuit, the Delhi High Court (HC) awarded an ex-parte injunction in favour of B2B marketplace IndiaMART.
A bench chaired by Justice Pratibha Singh barred the defendant, Sameer Samim Khan, from using the trademark 'INDIAMART' until the next hearing date. The case has been scheduled for hearing on September 27, 2022.
Petitioner (IndiaMART) has shown a prima facie basis for an ex parte injunction. If the defendant's operations are not stopped, irreparable harm will be done not only to the corporation, but also to the public at large, who may be misled by the defendant's fraudulent activities," stated the HC.
The court stated that Khan engaged in fraudulent activities by posing as an IndiaMART representative and collecting money from numerous individuals under the guise of offering jobs.
"It is evident to the Court that the defendant is entirely passing off and engaging in fraudulent behaviour by posing as the plaintiff's representative and allegedly offering job possibilities." "The website leaves no doubt in the Court's mind that Defendant No.1's entire operation is malafide, dishonest, illegal, and also contrary to law," the HC added.
In its petition, IndiaMART requested a permanent injunction to shield itself against a website that was "deceptively identical" to its own.
The B2B giant further claimed that Khan used its trademark illegally to deceive and dupe the general public by identifying himself as the company's representative. According to IndiaMART, Khan deceived a number of unsuspecting people by promising them 'Work From Home' jobs in exchange for application fees of INR 899 and INR 1,199.
Meanwhile, the HC ordered that the illegal website be taken down and that the bank account containing the proceeds of the suspected crime be frozen.
While Google has been ordered to file an affidavit in relation to two email addresses involved in the case, other companies, including web hosting platform GoDaddy and telecom company Jio, have been ordered to provide all necessary documents in the case, including KYC details and the name of the domain registrar.
It has also directed Raman Lamba, assistant commissioner of the Special Cell of Delhi Police's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) section, to conduct an investigation and file a progress report in the matter by the next date of hearing.
In recent years, the country has seen an increase in the prosecution of trademark-related offences.
It has also directed Raman Lamba, assistant commissioner of the Special Cell of Delhi Police's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) section, to conduct an investigation and file a progress report in the matter by the next date of hearing.
In recent years, the country has seen an increase in the prosecution of trademark-related offences. Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court barred a Bengaluru-based cakery from using Facebook-related names for its products and services indefinitely.
The Delhi High Court ordered Booking.com and Google to stop using the MakeMyTrip name and other trademarks related with it for Google Ads until the next hearing in May of this year.
The B2B marketplace adopted its trademark ‘IndiaMART’ back in 1996 and also registered its domain name the same year.Â