Delhi High Court grants relief to Dream11 in trademark case; refers dispute to mediation

The Delhi High Court on Thursday effectively restrained the operators of “American Dream11” from using Dream11’s mark, directing them to take down all social media pages, profiles and content bearing the name or any variant of it [Sporta Technologies v. American Dream 11]..The defendants told Justice Tejas Karia that they would cease operations in India and block access to their website for Indian users. The Court ordered, "Till the next date of hearing…the defendant shall take down, block all the social-media pages/profiles/any use of the plaintiff’s Mark 11 on any platforms including but not limited to Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram."The Court thereafter referred the parties to mediation. .Advocate Shwetasree Majumdar, appearing for Dream11, explained that the dispute arose against the backdrop of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which had banned online real money games. Thereafter, the company had reverted to a free-to-play model. She argued that the defendants’ offshore platform created the misleading impression that Indian users could access pay-to-play fantasy gaming “through their American site,” suggesting a route to circumvent Indian restrictions and divert customers..She further submitted that the defendants’ adoption of “American Dream11” was “tainted,” pointing to copied UI, layout, colour scheme, logo placement and player imagery. Also highlighted were Hindi-language posts, Dream11-sponsored jerseys featured in the defendants’ content and cricket-focused promotions targeted at India. These were in contradiction to the defendants’ July 2025 representation that they operated solely in the US and Canada. Dream11 noted that the defendants had incorporated American Dream 11 Fantasy Sports Private Limited in India just days before sending that email, making the assurance “patently false.”.During the hearing, the defendants’ counsel stated that they would not use the name “American Dream11,” would not offer any Dream11-named mobile app in India and would block the domain americandream11.us for Indian users. However, he said he had “no instructions” regarding removal of social media accounts..At the defendants’ request, the Court referred the parties to mediation before the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre on November 17, and listed the matter on December 18..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.