#trade mark

The Delhi High Court overturned the lower court’s decree, granting a permanent injunction against Saurashtra Aaj Tak and confirming that a party with prior use of a name can pursue a passing-off action without a registered trademark. This protects established brands from later entrants using deceptively similar titles.

The Delhi High Court ruled that continuous prior use of a trademark since 2009 overrides later registration, even if the registered owner has substantial goodwill. Acquiescence and a decade-long failure to act barred the water purifier company from obtaining an interim injunction against the cable manufacturer, reinforcing that trademark rights are earned through actual use, not just registration.