Bulletin 26 | June 2025
Snapshots
DELHI HIGH COURT
ANI Media filed a suit before the Delhi High Court against YouTuber Mohak Mangal and others, alleging defamation, trademark infringement, and disparagement arising from a video published on 25.05.2025. The video accused ANI of issuing copyright strikes and demanding large sums from content creators in exchange for removing them, likening the conduct to extortion. ANI sought urgent interim reliefs, including takedown of the video and related social media posts.
During the hearing, Defendant No.1 voluntarily agreed to take down the video, remove objectionable content (as marked in the Annexure of the Order), and re-upload a modified version, including an unblurred copy of the relevant email. The Court, finding prima facie defamatory content in tweets by unidentified users / John Doe (Defendant No.4), further directed the platform ‘X’ (Twitter) to take down impugned URLs.
DELHI HIGH COURT
The Division Bench stayed the operation of the interim injunction order passed by the Ld. Single Judge in favour of the Respondent No. 1 / Plaintiff in a copyright infringement suit involving the classical composition “Shiva Stuti” (“SS”).
The Ld. Single Judge held that the song “Veera Raja Veera” (VRV) from Ponniyin Selvan 2 (film) was not merely inspired by SS but incorporated identical Swaras (notes), Bhava (emotion) and Aural impact (impact on the ear), especially perceptible to a lay listener, and had directed the Appellant / Defendants to deposit `2 crores.
The Division Bench has stayed the operation of the interim order while clarifying that the same is not an expression of the Court’s view on the merits of each side. Further, the Division Bench has directed the Appellant / Defendant No. 1 to deposit `2 crores with the Court.
DELHI HIGH COURT
In this suit filed on behalf of Sadhguru and the Isha Foundation the Court granted a dynamic+ injunction against rogue websites and social media accounts restraining use of Sadhguru’s personality rights—including his name, image, voice, and likeness—via AI-generated deepfakes for financial scams and false endorsements. The Court recognized the evolving tech threats to public trust and granted real-time, broad-spectrum relief to prevent continued dissemination of infringing content and ordered takedown and disclosure measures across platforms.
DELHI HIGH COURT
The court held that common names like “NEHA” can function as trademarks under the Trademarks Act, 1999, but only upon acquiring secondary meaning. Accordingly, while Neha Herbals successfully proved distinctiveness of “NEHA” for mehendi and herbal hair products based on longstanding use and supporting evidence (like sales, advertising, and packaging), it failed to establish secondary meaning in relation to face creams. As such, its claims of trademark infringement and passing off against Sahni Cosmetics, who used “NEHA” for creams, were dismissed. The Court also declined to cancel Neha Herbals’ registrations, as they were lawfully obtained. This decision reinforces that protection for common or descriptive marks is not automatic; it must be earned in each product segment through demonstrable market recognition and cannot simply be presumed across an entire class of goods.
Significant Judgments
DELHI HIGH COURT [FAO(OS) CS(COMM) 345/2025
The Ld. Single Judge dismissed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (“RCB”) plea for temporary injunction against an advertisement published by Uber which made a humorous reference to “ROYALLY CHALLENGED BENGALURU.”. RCB alleged the Ad to be disparaging in nature, and infringing of RCB’s trademark. The Court evaluated the matter using a two-prong test, “i. whether there is disparagement per se, ii. Whether the provisions of the Section 29(4) of the Trademark Act are attracted.”. Held:
- there was no disparagement, as the element of criticism/ ridicule was absent and the content was aimed at merely poking fun.
- there was no infringement as the Plaintiff failed to show that the Defendants fulfilled the ingredients for an action of infringement under Section 29(4).
- the court further held that under Article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution of India, an exaggeration in an advertisement is permissible so long as it does not make serious qualitative/ quantitative representations.
DELHI HIGH COURT [CS(COMM) 108/2025]
A suit was filed to restrain unauthorized dissemination of the Plaintiff’s content via IPTV applications and their associated domains, wherein an ad-interim order was passed granting a dynamic blocking/ suspension of the impugned domains.
Subsequently, the Plaintiff sought an urgent relief for real-time blocking of domains in relation of the India–England cricket series 2025, during Court vacation. The Court extended the injunction to allow real-time blocking for a limited period as “superlative injunction” – an extended version of dynamic+ injunction, wherein the Court recognized that the mode of dissemination (whether via streaming, apps, or websites) is irrelevant once infringement is established specially for time-sensitive broadcasts such as live sports.
RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT [S.B. CIVILREVISION PETITION NO. 217/2024]
SUBHASH KAPOOR & ORS. VS CHANDRABHAN SINGH RATHORE & ORS.
The Rajasthan High Court allowed a revision petition challenging the Trial Court’s refusal to reject a civil suit that sought an injunction of the film Jolly LLB-3, before its release. The Plaintiff, a Bar Association President, alleged potential defamation of lawyers and judges in the yet to be released film. The Court held that the suit was premature and impliedly barred under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, which prescribes a statutory process for film certification and grievance redressal. Since the film had not been released or certified, the Civil Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit. Citing the need to avoid premature, speculative litigation, the Court ruled that the plaint disclosed no cause of action and must be rejected under Order VII Rule 11(a) & (d) CPC. The trial court’s order was set aside, and the suit dismissed.
Meet the Picklers
Sneha Jain, Snehima Jauhari, Rimjhim Tiwari, Ishi Singh, Mehr Sidhu, Kuber Mahajan, Pushpit Ghosh and Abhinav Bhalla.
