Delhi High Court restrains GAQM from using "Certified Scrum Master" till disposal of Scrum Alliance trademark suit

The Delhi High Court has restrained UK-based certification supplier Global Association for Quality Management (GAQM) from using the mark "Certified Scrum Master" and its associated logo until the disposal of a trademark suit filed by Scrum Alliance [Scrum Alliance, Inc v. Prem Kumar S and Ors]..Justice C Hari Shankar arrived at the prima facie conclusion that GAQM's mark and logo were deceptively similar to that of Scrum Alliance's "Certified ScrumMaster" mark and its logo. .The Court was hearing a suit for injunction by Scrum Alliance against GAQM, alleging that the latter was using marks and logos deceptively similar to its own Certification Trade Mark (CTM), leading to potential confusion in the certification services domain..Scrum Alliance informed the Court that in 2018, GAQM had agreed to darken the color of its logo and to add a disclaimer on its website, stating that its services were not associated with Scrum Alliance.Unsatisfied with the changes in the logo and the fact that the disclaimer mentioned that "Certified Scrum Master" was a registered trademark of GAQM, Scrum Alliance approached the High Court.Scrum Alliance emphasized that its marks and the GAQM's marks were identical and were being used in respect of identical services while catering to the same client base..GAQM, on the other hand, argued that it had only agreed to change the color of its logo and to insert a disclaimer on its website, which it had done. In light of this, GAQM contended that it could not be altogether restrained from using the marks in dispute.It added that it was not holding itself out as an agent of Scrum Alliance or granting certifications on behalf of Scrum Alliance. GAQM further argued that Scrum Alliance could not monopolize and arrogate to itself the entire right to grant scrum (a form of management optimisation) certification..In its analysis, the Court emphasized that to constitute trademark infringement, the infringing mark must be used in the course of trade by an unauthorized party, be identical or deceptively similar to the registered CTM, and be used in relation to goods or services for which the CTM is registered.After examining the marks in dispute, the Court concluded that the textual variation was minimal and the sun motif in both logos was comparable, resulting in a prima facie case of infringement.Resultantly, while the Court permitted GAQM to use "CSM" as a word mark since it was registered in the company's favour, it issued an interlocutory injunction against using "Certified Scrum Master" and the related logo.The matter will be heard next on December 15. .Scrum Alliance was represented by Advocates Anirudh Bakhru, Yashwardhan Singh and Vijay Laxmi.GAQM was represented by Advocate Gagan Gupta..[Read Judgment]