Bombay High Court restrains cab operators from using Reliance's 'Jio' trademark

The Bombay High Court has restrained a group of cab operators from using the ‘Jio’ trademark owned by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) [Reliance Industries Limited v. Asif Ahmed & Ors.].

Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan passed the ad-interim injunction order in favour of RIL on a suit filed by it, challenging the cab operators' use of the domain name www.jiocabs.com and a logo with the name 'Jio'.

The Court observed that various previous judgments had dealt with the 'Jio' name as a subject matter of protection as a well-known trademark of RIL.

Opining that RIL had made a strong prima facie case to substantiate its claims of trademark infringement in this case, the Court deemed it fit to grant the ad-interim injunction in its favour.

"The strength of the prima facie case in favour of the Plaintiff is strongly underlined. The continued usage of a well-known and protected brand name would indeed cause grave injury..", the Court said in its order.

RIL in its suit claimed that the defendant cab operators were conducting taxi services in Dehradun and Delhi using the 'Jio' name and artwork deceptively similar to that of 'Jio'.

Advocate Vinod Bhagat, appearing for RIL, informed the Court that after the defendants were served with the suit, they seemed to have changed their name, indicating that they may not be desirous of continuing the violative conduct any further.

Bhagat added that the content of the cab drivers' website has been changed and access to the address “www.jiocabs.com” now takes the user to a different website, which no longer shows the portal that is the subject matter of the plaint filed by RIL.

The defendants did not appear before the High Court.

The Court noted that while the change of website indicates that the defendants are addressing the issue, the domain name continues to exist and was in their control.

It, therefore, deemed it fit to pass an order restraining the defendants and other cab operators, during the pendency of the suit, from offering or rendering taxi services or any other goods or services through the website that carries the domain name www.jiocabs.com or using the Jio name or any mark or label deceptively similar to it, or from using any artwork that is similar to the original artistic work of Jio.

The matter will be taken up next on November 28.

[Read Order]