Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt Ltd. secured an ex-parte ad interim injunction protecting its well-known ‘MOCHA’ trademark, which has been in continuous use for restaurant and cafe services since 2001. The Delhi High Court has strictly restrained defendant, along with anyone acting on its behalf, from offering services, marketing, or advertising its business under the impugned trademark ‘MOCHA KAFFEE’ or any other mark deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s ‘MOCHA’ trademark until the next date of hearing.
The Court held that the adoption of a deceptively similar trademark for identical services, especially when the original mark has established immense goodwill and serves as a distinct source identifier, creates a high likelihood of public confusion and deception. Such unauthorized use takes unfair advantage of the original proprietor’s reputation and constitutes prima facie trademark infringement and passing off, warranting immediate injunctive relief to prevent irreparable harm.
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A Single Judge Bench of Justice Jyoti Singh observed that the plaintiff has built a formidable reputation and goodwill over the years, making the ‘MOCHA’ trademark an exclusive source identifier for its services. It was noted that the defendant adopted the plaintiff’s registered trademark in its entirety as the prominent feature of its own mark.
The Court pointed out striking similarities, including the use of the word ‘KAFFEE’ which is merely a phonetic misspelling of ‘CAFE’, identical colour combinations of maroon, black, and white, and a deceptively similar tagline. Furthermore, the Court highlighted that actual confusion was already manifesting in the market, as evidenced by public online reviews referring to the defendant’s outlets as ‘MOCHA CAFE’.
Briefly, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt Ltd., the plaintiff, has been operating a well-known chain of restaurants and cafes under the registered trademark ‘MOCHA’ since 2001. The plaintiff discovered that the defendant, M/S. Mocha Kaffee, was operating cafes and selling beverages in Mumbai using the identical and deceptively similar trademark ‘MOCHA KAFFEE’. Despite the plaintiff issuing multiple cease-and-desist notices and filing takedown complaints on various online food delivery and search platforms, the defendant continued to use the impugned mark on its outlets, merchandise, and online listings.
