The Bombay High Court has granted an ad interim injunction restraining unknown operators from running a counterfeit website, using deceptive emails and issuing forged communications to offer fake NATURAL Ice Cream franchise licences to unsuspecting applicants. The Court recognised the long-standing reputation and goodwill of the NATURAL ice cream brand, noting its extensive trademark portfolio, nationwide presence and decades of commercial use.
The Court observed that the impugned operators were allegedly using the plaintiffs’ trademarks, branding elements, logos and other protected material without authorization, giving rise to a strong prima facie case of trademark infringement and copyright infringement. Apart from harming the plaintiffs’ business interests, the Court noted that the fraudulent conduct had the potential to mislead prospective franchisees and members of the public into believing that the scam communications originated from the genuine NATURAL business.
Finding that the balance of convenience favoured the plaintiffs and that continued misuse would cause irreparable harm, the Court granted ad-interim protection restraining the defendants from using the NATURAL marks, branding, domain names, websites, e-mail addresses and franchise-related representations.
Briefly, plaintiffs, Siddhant Ice Creams LLP and its master franchisee, are the proprietors and operators of the well-known NATURAL ice cream business founded by Late Raghunandan Kamath in 1984. The plaintiffs own numerous valid trademark registrations relating to the ‘NATURAL’ family of marks and operate a nationwide franchise network with a substantial market presence and goodwill.
The suit was filed against unknown persons described as John Doe defendants, who allegedly created deceptive websites, e-mail addresses, franchise communications and related online material falsely representing themselves as connected with the plaintiffs’ NATURAL ice cream business. The plaintiffs alleged that these persons were issuing forged franchise offers and communications to unsuspecting members of the public in order to collect money fraudulently in exchange for non-existent franchise rights.
The plaintiffs further contended that the fraudulent operators were using the NATURAL trademarks, logos, branding and business identity without authorization, thereby infringing trademark rights, violating copyright, and passing off their activities as those of the plaintiffs. Defendant Nos. 2 to 4, including the domain name registrar and government authorities, were impleaded only for the purpose of implementing blocking and compliance directions.
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A Single Judge Bench of Justice Madhav J. Jamdar noted that the material placed on record demonstrated that the NATURAL ice cream business had been operating since 1984 and had built enormous goodwill over several decades. The plaintiffs had produced extensive evidence of trademark registrations, large-scale business operations, franchise expansion, sales figures and promotional expenditure, showing that the NATURAL marks had acquired significant reputation and market recognition.
The Court observed that the impugned websites, e-mails and communications were designed to imitate the plaintiffs’ business and branding. From the record, it appeared that the unknown defendants were using the NATURAL trade name and associated marks for a mala fide purpose, namely to exploit the plaintiffs’ reputation and influence members of the public to part with money under the false belief that they were dealing with an authorised NATURAL franchise opportunity.
The Court also found that the fraudulent activities targeted not only the plaintiffs’ intellectual property rights but also had the potential to mislead prospective franchisees, business associates and consumers. Considering the scale of the plaintiffs’ reputation and the apparent misuse of their marks, immediate protection was necessary.
