Delhi High Court Injuncts ‘Bait-and-Switch’ News Websites Using “TIMES OF INDIA” and “TOI” Marks, Orders Domain Takedown

Delhi High Court Injuncts ‘Bait-and-Switch’ News Websites Using “TIMES OF INDIA” and “TOI” Marks, Orders Domain Takedown

Introduction

The Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Bennett Coleman and Company Limited, restraining the operators of www.timesofindiaa.news and associated entities from using the “TIMES OF INDIA” and “TOI” marks, reproducing the plaintiff’s curated editorial content, and imitating its digital trade dress. The Court found that the defendants had adopted a deceptive “bait-and-switch” mechanism, causing prima facie trademark infringement, copyright infringement, passing off, and unfair competition.

Factual Background

Bennett Coleman and Company Limited instituted the present suit after discovering that the defendants were operating deceptive websites using domain names such as www.timesofindiaa.news, which closely imitated the plaintiff’s iconic “TIMES OF INDIA” and “TOI” marks. It was alleged that the defendants were deliberately using the plaintiff’s well-known trademarks, device marks, and digital presentation to attract internet traffic and mislead both readers and advertisers into believing that the impugned platform was associated with the genuine Times of India.

The plaintiff specifically asserted that the defendants had been reproducing and publishing its curated news reports verbatim, copying the bylines and identities of TOI journalists, displaying the plaintiff’s verified social media handles, and embedding hyperlinks redirecting users to the official TOI website, all with the object of creating false credibility and commercial legitimacy. According to the plaintiff, such conduct not only infringed its intellectual property rights but also damaged its goodwill, reputation, and the publicity rights of its journalists.

Procedural Background

The matter came before Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on an urgent application for interim relief. Upon considering the plaint, supporting material, and the comparative allegations regarding the deceptive websites, the Court found that immediate ex-parte protection was necessary to prevent continuing reputational and financial harm.

Issues

1. Whether the defendants’ use of “TIMES OF INDIA” and “TOI” marks in domain names and website presentation constitutes trademark infringement and passing off.

2. Whether verbatim lifting of news reports, bylines, and UI trade dress amounts to copyright infringement and unfair competition.

3. Whether domain registrars and intermediaries should be directed to take down and transfer infringing domain names to the plaintiff.

Contentions of Parties

The plaintiff contended that the defendants had intentionally adopted deceptively similar domain names and digital presentation to divert internet users, mislead advertisers, and exploit the immense goodwill associated with the Times of India, a publication with a legacy of over 188 years and several recognised well-known trademarks.

It was further argued that the defendants had copied the plaintiff’s editorial content, device marks, website interface, and journalist bylines, thereby violating both trademark and copyright protections while simultaneously engaging in passing off and deceptive trade practices. The defendants had not entered appearance at the ex-parte stage.

Reasoning and Analysis

The Court took note of the plaintiff’s historic reputation, wide readership, well-known trademark status, and substantial digital reach, and held that a strong prima facie case had been established. The Bench found that the defendants’ conduct clearly reflected a calculated bait-and-switch strategy, wherein the plaintiff’s trademarks and goodwill were being used as a façade to lure readers and advertisers.

The Court further observed that the defendants’ conduct was not confined merely to use of similar domain names, but extended to scraping and reproducing copyrighted editorial content, lifting bylines of journalists, and imitating the plaintiff’s website interface and trade dress, thereby increasing the likelihood of deception and market confusion.

On the question of interim protection, the Court held that the balance of convenience decisively favoured the plaintiff, since continued operation of the impugned websites would result in irreparable harm to the plaintiff’s reputation, goodwill, and advertiser confidence, apart from causing monetary loss that may not be adequately compensable later.

The Bench also recognised that the integrity of journalistic attribution, editorial presentation, and digital trade dress is central to the plaintiff’s identity as a trusted media house, and any unauthorised imitation of the same strikes at the very core of its intellectual property rights.

Decision

The Delhi High Court accordingly granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction, restraining the defendants and all persons acting on their behalf from using the marks “TIMES OF INDIA,” “TOI,” or any identical or deceptively similar marks in any form, including as domain names, trade names, logos, trademarks, or in digital and physical media.

The Court further restrained the defendants from scraping, reproducing, publishing, or communicating to the public the plaintiff’s copyrighted news articles, journalist bylines, TOI device marks, and website interface, and from imitating its trade dress.

In addition, domain name registrars and intermediaries were directed to take down the infringing domains and related webpages, transfer such domain names to the plaintiff, and disclose the subscriber and registration details of the website operators.

The matter now stands listed before the Joint Registrar on 9 July 2026 for completion of pleadings and before the Court on 28 September 2026.

In this case the plaintiff was represented by Advocates Hemant Singh, Mamta R. Jha, Akhil Saxena and Palak Batra. Meanwhile the defendant was represented by SPC Badar Mahmood.