Delhi High Court rules in favor of Exchange 22

Delhi High Court rules in favor of Exchange 22

The tussle arose when another startup launched a replica of the gaming app

The Delhi High Court has granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favor of Exchange 22, in the copyright infringement suit filed against MyFab11.

Bodhishatta Karfa, the Director of Exchange 22 said, "India is now racing towards being a hub of unicorns, startups, and entrepreneurship at an all-new high. One common thread that encompasses all these big-ticket achievements is innovation and protection of ideas. I am thankful to the Delhi High Court for once again instilling confidence into the community the very belief and importance of intellectual property and ownership of copyright as one of the inevitable business assets today."

Founded in 2019, Exchange 22 is India's first Sports Stock Exchange and a fantasy gaming app brand registered with Hulm Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. It deals in cricket, football, basketball, and kabaddi. Its distinguishing feature is the real-time gaming experience. It incorporates the unique traits of the share market trading, which allows the user to buy and sell players' shares just as buying and selling stocks on the exchange.

Before the beginning of real-time, the users can transact by purchasing any number of shares of a player, for a maximum of up to 22 players per match happening globally. In addition to the Points System, the app is a perfect blend of Fantasy Sports Leagues and Stock Market Trading features.

The tussle between the two entities arose when just a day before the Indian Premier League 2022, MyFab11 launched a replica of Exchange 22. It not only cloned the gaming interface, but also the front-end analytics gaming data, including the player prices. It also adopted similar advertising and promotional strategies and the overall advertising approach, infringing upon the registered copyright.

The court has granted an injunction to MyFab11 from being downloaded by the users through their app, official website, or any other means, platforms and updates. Also, all app stores housing the app have been directed to delist the app. The domain registrar has also been directed to suspend the registration of the domain name.

Law firm Singh & Singh represented Exchange 22. The team was led by Sandeep Sethi (Senior Advocate) and assisted by Sudeep Chatterjee (Partner). Others included Advocates Tejveer Singh Bhatia, Shifa Nagar, Kiratraj Sadana, and Tanya Arora.