Delhi High Court Grants Permanent Injunction To Tata Group’s Infiniti Retail Against Trademark Infringement Of 'CROMA'

Delhi High Court Grants Permanent Injunction To Tata Group’s Infiniti Retail Against Trademark Infringement Of 'CROMA'

The Delhi High Court has issued a permanent injunction in favor of Infiniti Retail Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Group and the owner of the 'CROMA' trademark, against websites and domain names infringing upon its brand.

Infiniti Retail, an electronic goods retail chain, stated that it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Pvt Ltd and has been operating since 2005, offering a diverse range of consumer electronics and household appliances. It holds registrations for around 130 trademarks, including various 'CROMA' formative marks, and the brand was declared a 'well-known mark' by the Registrar of Trade Marks in February 2020.

The company sought a permanent injunction against several domain names/websites that incorporated the word 'CROMA,' arguing that they were misleading consumers into believing they were associated with Infiniti, thereby causing financial and reputational harm. The Court had earlier granted a temporary injunction on July 25, 2022, directing the blocking of the infringing domain names.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh noted that the defendants failed to respond to Infiniti's application for summary judgment under Order 13A CPC, indicating that they had no valid defense. The Court ruled that the infringing domain names were misleading consumers and infringing on Infiniti’s trademark rights.

Consequently, the Court issued a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from using the 'CROMA' mark and directed domain registrars, including GoDaddy, to transfer the infringing domain names to Infiniti upon payment of transfer/renewal charges. Additionally, service providers Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio were instructed to permanently suspend the mobile numbers of the defendants, while their bank accounts and UPI IDs were also ordered to be frozen.