Delhi High Court Injuncts Bhopal Publisher from Using “The Pioneer” Mark, Finds Prima Facie Trademark and Copyright Infringement

Delhi High Court Injuncts Bhopal Publisher from Using “The Pioneer” Mark, Finds Prima Facie Trademark and Copyright Infringement

Introduction

The Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of MS CMYK Printech Limited, restraining Ideal Multi Media Network from unauthorised use of the trademark and copyrighted material of the newspaper “The Pioneer”. The Court held that the defendant’s conduct amounted to prima facie trademark infringement and copyright violation, involving deliberate imitation of the plaintiff’s publication.

Factual Background

The plaintiff, MS CMYK Printech Limited, is the registered proprietor of the well-known newspaper “The Pioneer,” established in 1865. The defendant, Ideal Multi Media Network, had earlier been authorised to publish the Bhopal edition of the newspaper under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) executed in 2004.

However, the plaintiff terminated the arrangement on 17 February 2026, citing non-payment of outstanding royalties amounting to approximately ₹1.81 crore. Despite such termination, the defendant allegedly continued to publish newspapers using the “The Pioneer” mark, along with identical layouts, news reports, and editorial content.

The plaintiff contended that such continued use amounted to unauthorised exploitation of its trademark and copyrighted works, and was misleading the public into believing that the defendant’s publication remained associated with or authorised by the plaintiff.

Procedural Background

The plaintiff instituted a commercial suit seeking injunction against trademark infringement, copyright violation, and passing off, along with urgent interim relief. The matter came up before Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, who considered the material on record and granted ex-parte ad-interim relief, while issuing summons to the defendant.

Issues

1. Whether the defendant’s continued use of the mark “The Pioneer” after termination of licence amounts to trademark infringement and passing off.

2. Whether replication of newspaper content, layout, and editorial structure constitutes copyright infringement.

3. Whether the plaintiff established a prima facie case, balance of convenience, and irreparable harm warranting ex-parte interim injunction.

Contentions of Parties

The plaintiff argued that the defendant had no surviving rights to use the mark or content after termination of the MoU and that its continued publication was a deliberate attempt to ride upon the goodwill and reputation of “The Pioneer.”

It was further contended that the defendant had reproduced news reports, layout, column structures, headlines, and visual elements, all of which collectively constitute copyrightable material, thereby infringing the plaintiff’s intellectual property rights.

The defendant had not yet appeared before the Court at the interim stage, and the matter was considered ex parte.

Reasoning and Analysis

The Court, upon comparison of the plaintiff’s and defendant’s publications, found prima facie evidence of deliberate copying and imitation, both in terms of trademark usage and editorial content. It observed that the defendant’s use of the mark “The Pioneer”, along with identical layouts and published material, amounted to unauthorised adoption and infringement of both trademark and copyright.

Importantly, the Court recognised that the curation and presentation of a newspaper including selection of news items, headline styles, column structures, and visual layout constitute protectable copyrightable elements, and are not merely factual compilations.

The Bench further noted that the defendant’s conduct was likely to mislead readers and advertisers into believing a continuing association with the plaintiff, thereby causing reputational harm and dilution of goodwill.

On the three-fold test for interim relief, the Court held that:

• the plaintiff had established a strong prima facie case,
• the balance of convenience lay in its favour, and
• failure to grant relief would result in irreparable harm to the plaintiff’s rights and reputation.

Decision

The Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction, restraining the defendant and its agents from:

• using the trademark “The Pioneer”,
• reproducing or publishing the plaintiff’s copyrighted content, and
• representing itself as a licensee or authorised publisher of the plaintiff.

The Court also restrained the defendant from soliciting advertisements or generating revenue using the plaintiff’s branding, and issued summons directing the defendant to file its written statement within 30 days.

In this case the plaintiff was represented by Advocates Saurav Agrawal, Asan Rajan, Ajay Sharma, Vikash Tomar, Devang Shrotriya, Kashish Chadha and Harsh Khabar.