Delhi HC imposed Rs 25 lakh cost on a website named 'Sholay' for trademark infringement of the film title 'Sholay'

CASE: Sholay Media Entertainment & Anr. vs. Yogesh Patel and Ors.

COURT: Justice Pratibha M Singh of the Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court recently imposed costs and damages of ₹25 lakh on the website 'Sholay.com' for infringing the trademark of the legendary film, Sholay. 

The Court said that trademark of landmark films is entitled to protection since it transcends generations of Indians. The Court, therefore, restrained the website from using the logo, designs and selling the DVD of the 1975 movie.

FACTS

The infringement suit was filed by Sholay Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. against a domain name and magazine, using the film's name in an unauthorized manner. Counsel appearing for the plaintiffs argued that the defendants had registered the domain name 'sholay.com' and were tarnishment by the well-known, registered trademark 'Sholay'. They had also issued a magazine using 'Sholay' and sold merchandise using the movie.

The defendants argued that ‘Sholay.com’ is a website used by educated people and would consequently lead to a lower likelihood of confusion. Moreover, the film titles cannot be trademarks and the goods and services offered by the Plaintiffs and Defendants are unrelated and not overlapping.

HELD

However, the Court rejected the claims made by the defendants that the internet is only being used by educated persons and held that the adoption of the mark "Sholay" was clearly with mala fide intention. It is a fit case to an award of cost of ₹25,00,000, to the plaintiff. The Court further directed the defendant to refrain from the use of the mark 'Sholay' on the internet or otherwise.

WHAT IS AN INFRINGEMENT?

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Papiha Ghoshal is a Fintech lawyer and a contributing news writer at Rest The Case. She has been writing for 3+ years and has a flair in corporate law, fintech law, and human rights law.