Delhi High Court rules in favor of Domino's in Trademark Case against Dominick Pizza

Delhi High Court rules in favor of Domino's in Trademark Case against Dominick Pizza

The outlet was also accused of imitating names such as Cheese Burst and Pasta Italiano

The Delhi High Court has issued a permanent injunction restraining a Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh-based pizza outlet from using the mark Dominick Pizza, stating it infringed upon the trademark of Domino’s, the multinational pizzeria giant.

In the Dominos IP Holder LLC & Anr v Dominick Pizza & Anr case, Justice C Hari Shankar observed that Domino’s Pizza and Dominick Pizza sounded similar phonetically and held deceptively similar marks.

The bench explained there was a likelihood of confusion bound to arise over the products if a customer of average intelligence and imperfect recollection visited Domino’s outlet and later the outlet of Dominick Pizza.

The judge held, “This likelihood would be exacerbated by the manner in which the defendant 1 [Dominick] has chosen to represent its logo, in a square format using lettering similar to that used by the plaintiffs.”

He emphasized that the courts had to be vigilant, "Where the marks in question pertain to food items, or eateries where food items are dispensed and served, a somewhat higher degree of care and caution is expected to be observed.”

Domino’s had filed a trademark infringement suit against Dominick Pizza for using an identical name and also for using registered trademarks such as Cheese Burst and Pasta Italiano.

In August 2022, the court issued an ex parte interim order against Dominick Pizza.

Justice Shankar observed, “The intent to capitalize on the reputation of a known and established brand, by using a deceptively similar mark can, in a given case, give rise to a legitimate apprehension of quality compromise by the imitator.”

The court added that the aspect of whether an infringing mark was or was not likely to result in confusion was essentially a matter to be decided on the subjective discretion of the court. It could not be ruled based on customers’ evidence.

The bench held that Dominick Pizza clearly infringed Domino's trademark. Thus, it restrained Dominick Pizza from using such a name and the marks Cheese Burst and Pasta Italiano.

It also ordered Dominick Pizza to withdraw its application from the Trademarks Registry for the registration, and transfer its internet domain names to Domino’s.

Domino’s was represented by advocates Pravin Anand, Shantanu Sahay, Imon Roy, and Vareesha Irfan.