Inttl Advocare successfully represented Bennett Coleman & Co. in dismissing an injunction sought against the use of the mark ‘Bhaiya Ji Superhit’

Inttl Advocare successfully represented Bennett Coleman & Co. in dismissing an injunction sought against the use of the mark ‘Bhaiya Ji Superhit’

Terms the marks of both parties dissimilar

The Delhi High Court has denied interim relief to TV 18 Broadcast Limited against Bennett, Coleman, And Company Limited for using of the word ‘bhaiyaji on its news channel.

In the TV 18 Broadcast Limited vs Bennett, Coleman, And Company Limited case, Justice Amit Bansal stated that programs pertaining to news fall under Class 41 and Class 38. Hence, Class 41 was relevant where there existed a strict condition to not claim exclusivity over any registered mark.

The contention of the plaintiff, TV 18, was over distinctiveness acquired by the mark ‘Bhaiyaji’. Along with several other entertainment media channels, TV 18 commenced the business of a Hindi television show titled ‘Bhaiyaji Kahin’.

Its device mark was registered under Class 38 and 41. The registration under Class 41 was granted with an explicit condition that the plaintiff was not entitled to claim exclusivity over any words separately.

The defendant, Bennett, Coleman, another media conglomerate giant, launched its TV show ‘Bhaiya Ji Superhit’.

It prompted the plaintiff to issue a Cease-and-Desist notice to the defendant to refrain from using the word ‘Bhaiya Ji’ as its trademark. The defendant refused, stating significant differences in both shows as well as the marks. Thus, the plaintiff approached the high court.

Despite a condition to not claim exclusivity over the word ‘Bhaiyaji’ under Section 41, the plaintiff affirmed no such limitation under Class 38, rendering it eligible for the protection of the mark, while claiming ‘Bhaiyaji’ as a dominant part of its mark.

The defendant stated several prior existing marks with the disputed word and argued that ‘Bhaiyaji’ was a common term, which the plaintiff too was made aware of during the registration. It had then denied the need to dissect any part of the mark. Thus, Bennett, Coleman denied all allegations.

The judge noted that the contention of TV 18 was over distinctiveness acquired by the mark ‘bhaiyaji’ as a matter of examination and not a ground for the grant of interim relief. He observed that the marks of both parties were dissimilar and ‘bhaiyaji’ was termed generic in nature. He, therefore, rejected the application of the plaintiff for an interim injunction.

Bennett, Coleman, And Company (Times Group) was represented by Inttl Advocare. The team comprised Hemant Singh (founder and managing partner) and Soumya Khandelwal and Pragya Jain.