In the first 3 months of 2019, MakeMyTrip (henceforth ‘MMT’), an Indian online travel company based in Gurugram (Haryana) filed two similar but separate lawsuits related to infringement of its registered trademark. Both cases were filed with the Delhi High Court.
Case 1
In February 2019, MMT filed a suit against M/s Make My Happy Journey (henceforth ‘MMHJ’), an online travel agency for infringing on MMT’s registered trademark (company name) and trying to pass it off as its own. MMT also alleged that MMHJ was offering identical online travel services as MMT while piggy-backing on MMT’s brand recognition value. These included:
- Flight bookings
- Hotel reservations
- Tour bookings
The third aspect of the infringement suit involved MMHJ’s logo. MMT alleged that MMHJ’s company/website logo contained the formative element ‘MY’ that was written and stylised in an identical manner to MMT’s logo. Finally, MMT’s assertion was that MMHJ’s substitution of the word ‘Trip’ with ‘Happy’ and ‘Journey’ should not preclude MMHJ from being punished for copyright infringement. In other words, MMT alleged that these changes were superficial and that MMHJ’s dishonest intent was apparent and must be punished.
As of May 2019, MMHJ’s website www.makemyhappyjourney.com was no longer functional. However, the company’s Facebook page was still live (albeit outdated).
Case 2
In March 2019, MMT filed a suit for injunction against Pravasi Guide Private Limited & Ors. (henceforth ‘Pravasi’) for malafide infringement of MMT’s registered trademark. Like MMHJ, MMT alleged that Pravasi was also riding on MMT’s brand value and market recognition to offer identical online travel services as MMT. MMT also took offence to Pravasi’s use of the word mark ‘MakeMyPravaas’, stating that it was deceptively similar to the ‘MakeMyTrip’ word mark. According to MMT, Pravasi’s word mark, which is a principal feature of the infringing logo and website domain name is in every way – phonetically, visually and structurally – similar to MMT’s word mark and logo mark. Furthermore, simply substituting the word ‘Trip’ with the word ‘Pravaas’ in the infringing word mark is not enough to sufficiently distinguish the two marks, according to MMT. MMT averred that all these acts constitute deliberate deception on the part of Pravasi that is not only confusing but also patently dishonest and illegal.
As of May 2019, Pravasi’s website http://makemypravaas.com/ is still online. However, it is unclear whether it is still in use.
What MMT said
MMT stated that they had sent ‘cease and desist’ notices to both MMHJ and Pravasi to stop infringing on MMT’s word mark, logo and website domain name. However, both companies failed to respond and continued to piggyback on MMT’s market reputation and goodwill for their own financial gain (and MMT’s financial loss).
Result
The Delhi High Court ruled in favour of MakeMyTrip in both cases and granted them relief.
The court ruled that MMT is the registered owner of the impugned trademarks. It also stated that the conduct of both defendants MMHJ and Pravasi amounted to infringement under Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 as well as a violation of MMT’s statutory and common law rights.
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