Delhi High Court grants interim relief to Domino's in trademark case against Donito's

The Delhi High Court recently restrained a Punjab-based food chain from using the trademark "Donito's" since it was found to be deceptively similar to that of Domino's Pizza [Dominos IP Holder LLC & Anr. V. M/s MG Foods & Anr.]..Justice Anish Dayal determined that the balance of convenience was in favour of Domino's and that they would suffer irreparable harm if an interim injunction was not granted."Balance of convenience lies in favour of plaintiffs, and they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in case the injunction, as prayed for, is not granted," the order dated May 31 said..The Court was hearing an application by Domino's for injunction in a trademark suit filed against MG Foods, which operates Donito's..Domino's informed the Court that it came across the infringement through a YouTube video in which the Domino's was being linked with Donito's.They argued that the "Donito’s" mark, used by MG Foods for selling pizzas and burgers, was phonetically and visually deceptively similar to "Domino's".Further, they informed the Court that the defendants had applied for the registration of their mark "Donito's" which had been accepted and advertised.Domino's sought a restraint order on the ground that they have exclusive rights over the trademark. .The Court acknowledged the extensive use and goodwill associated with the Domino’s trademark and found that the use of "Donito's" by MG Foods was likely to cause confusion among consumers. Thus, it ordered MG Foods to stop using the infringing mark and to take down all references to "DONITO’s" from their website and social media platforms and listed the case for further hearing on October 15..Advocates Pravin Anand, Shantanu Sahay, Imon Roy and Vareesha Irfan represented Dominio's. .[Read Order]