‘Shaadi.com’ Earns Well-Known Trademark Status; Bombay High Court Cracks Down on Imitation Website

‘Shaadi.com’ Earns Well-Known Trademark Status; Bombay High Court Cracks Down on Imitation Website

Introduction

The Bombay High Court has recognised Shaadi.com as a well-known trademark under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, holding that the mark enjoys exceptional reputation, goodwill and public recognition in the field of matrimonial and matchmaking services. The ruling reinforces strong judicial protection for established digital brands against deceptive online imitation.

Factual Background

People Interactive India Private Limited (PIIPL), the proprietor of Shaadi.com, adopted the mark in 1996 and commenced commercial use in 2000. Over the years, Shaadi.com grew into one of India’s largest matrimonial platforms, with millions of registered users, substantial revenue growth, and extensive advertising and promotional activities in India and abroad.

The dispute arose when Ammanamanchi Lalitha Rani began operating a competing matrimonial website under the domain name getshaadi.com, offering identical services. PIIPL alleged that the impugned domain was deceptively similar to its registered mark and was intended to divert internet traffic by exploiting the goodwill attached to Shaadi.com.

Procedural Background

PIIPL instituted a trademark infringement and passing off suit before the Bombay High Court against the operator of getshaadi.com, along with the domain registrar and hosting service provider. Despite repeated notices, the defendants failed to appear, and the suit proceeded ex parte.

Issues

1. Whether the defendants’ use of getshaadi.com amounted to trademark infringement and passing off.

2. Whether Shaadi.com qualified as a well-known trademark under Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

Contentions of the Parties

PIIPL contended that Shaadi.com had acquired immense goodwill and reputation through long, continuous and exclusive use, extensive advertising expenditure, and a massive user base. It argued that the defendants had subsumed the entire mark “Shaadi” within their domain name and had deliberately used Shaadi.com as a meta tag and keyword to divert traffic.

The defendants did not contest the proceedings and placed no defence on record.

Reasoning and Analysis

Justice Arif S. Doctor held that the defendants’ use of the impugned mark and domain name for identical services clearly amounted to trademark infringement under the Trade Marks Act. The Court found that the intention behind adopting getshaadi.com was to ride upon PIIPL’s goodwill and mislead consumers into assuming an association with Shaadi.com.

While examining the prayer for recognition as a well-known trademark, the Court analysed the scale and duration of Shaadi.com’s use, its exponential growth in revenue, extensive promotional expenditure, and its massive consumer base. The Court noted that Shaadi.com had facilitated millions of matches and attracted billions of website visits, establishing an unparalleled degree of public recognition.

A crucial factor influencing the Court’s decision was the defendants’ use of “shaadi.com” as a meta tag and keyword, which resulted in diversion of more than 73% of web traffic. The Court held that such conduct was a clear attempt to trade upon PIIPL’s reputation and caused loss and damage to the plaintiff.

The Court further observed that Shaadi.com’s reputation transcended the matrimonial sector and that even use in respect of dissimilar goods or services could lead consumers to assume a trade connection with PIIPL. On this basis, the mark satisfied the statutory requirements for recognition as a well-known trademark.

Decision

The Bombay High Court decreed the suit in favour of PIIPL, permanently restraining the defendants from using getshaadi.com or any deceptively similar mark or domain name. The defendants were directed to hand over all infringing materials for destruction. While declining to award damages, the Court imposed costs of ₹25 lakh on the defendants, payable with interest, and formally recognised Shaadi.com as a well-known trademark under the Trade Marks Act.

In this case the plaintiff was represented by Mr. Yatin Khochare a/w Ms. Preeta Panthaki, Advocates.