Delhi High Court Prima Facie finds Trademark Infringement: Restrains 24 Food Entities from using 'Khan Chacha' Trademark

Delhi High Court Prima Facie finds Trademark Infringement: Restrains 24 Food Entities from using 'Khan Chacha' Trademark

The Delhi High Court passed a restraining order against 24 food entities prohibiting them from using 'Khan Chacha' trademark and directed the food delivery companies Zomato and Swiggy to delist these entities from their platforms.

The single judge Justice C. Hari Shankar, noted that the plaintiff- Gupta and Gupta Private Limited which has been using "Khan Chacha" trademark since 1972, had prima facie proved the infringement in its favor.

The plaintiff had filed a suit against various entities alleging that they were providing similar services by using the mark "Khan Chaha."

The plaintiff asserted in the plaint that the mark "Khan Chacha" is inventive and arbitrary with respect to the nature of services for which the mark is listed and in respect of which it is used.

The plaint alleged that Defendants 1 to 24 are entities who were providing services similar to those provided by the plaintiff using marks/names which include the appellation "Khan Chaha", without any authority whatsoever. The plaintiff had also annexed documents in its plaint which evidenced such usage.

Further, the plaint contended that the usage of "Khan Chaha" by Defendants 1 to 24 infringed the aforenoted registration held by the plaintiff. Defendants 1 to 24 are entities which, according to the plaintiff, were using "Khan Chacha" as the names of their respective establishments, thereby infringing the plaintiff's registered trademarks. Defendants 25 to 26 are entities which provide online services for supply of food and other such items, namely, Zomato Ltd. and Bundl Technologies Private Limited, which functions under the name Swiggy.

The Court after recording the submissions passed an ex parte order and held, that "the plaintiff has made out a clear prima facie case of infringement, inasmuch as the word mark "Khan Chacha" has been registered in the plaintiff's favor both in class 29 as well as in class 43, with user claim since 1972. Usage of the "Khan Chacha" moniker, by any other entities for similar services, would, therefore, clearly infringe the plaintiff's registered mark within the meaning of Section 29(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999."

The Court granted ad interim injunctive reliefs directing, defendants 1 to 24 were restrained from using or advertising, directly or indirectly, any mark which includes the words "Khan Chacha", for services identical or allied to the services covered by classes 29 and 43 of the classification of goods and services for trade mark purposes and defendants 25 and 26 were directed to block access to the websites and Mobile app of Defendants 1 to 24.

Issuing summons in the suit, the Court issued notices returnable on 11th April, 2023 and directed that a response be filed within four weeks.