In an interim order passed in a commercial trademark suit, the Delhi High Court has restrained the defendant from using the mark “MakeMyIndiaTrip” and related indicia in relation to travel services. The Court held, prima facie, that the addition of the word “India” did not distinguish the impugned mark from the plaintiff’s registered “MakeMyTrip” mark.
The Court laid down that where a registered proprietor demonstrates prior and continuous use, statutory rights, and substantial goodwill in a mark, use by another party of a deceptively similar mark for identical services may amount, prima facie, to infringement under Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. It asserted that mere addition of a geographical or descriptive element such as “India” will not, by itself, avoid deceptive similarity where the essential part of the registered mark is retained and the competing services operate in the same field, creating a real likelihood of consumer confusion and dilution of goodwill.
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Jyoti Singh observed, at the prima facie stage, that the plaintiff was the registered proprietor of the mark “MakeMyTrip” and that the impugned marks “MakeMyIndiaTrip” were deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s registered mark. The Bench noted that the mere addition of the word “India” was insufficient to distinguish the impugned marks, particularly when the rival services were identical and catered to a common consumer base.
The Bench further observed that confusion among members of the public and prospective customers could not be ruled out, and accepted the plaintiff’s contention that use of the impugned marks was likely to result in initial interest confusion, point of sale confusion, and post-sale confusion. It also prima facie viewed the defendant’s adoption of the impugned marks as being in bad faith and intended to create a false affiliation or nexus with the plaintiff’s mark, which had acquired formidable goodwill and reputation.
Briefly, the plaintiff, MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited, instituted a commercial trademark action against the defendant, M/s MakeMyIndiaTrip, alleging infringement and passing off in relation to the plaintiff’s well-known “MakeMyTrip” marks used for travel and tourism-related services. The Court recorded the plaintiff’s case that it was incorporated in 2000, had continuously and uninterruptedly used “MakeMyTrip” since Aug 02, 2000, operated its principal website at “www.makemytrip.com”, and had built extensive goodwill through long use, registrations, advertising, sponsorships, business tie-ups, large user traffic, and mobile application downloads. The plaintiff further asserted that in March 2026 it discovered the defendant’s use of the impugned marks “MakeMyIndiaTrip” on the website “www.makemyindiatrip.com”, and on social media platforms for identical travel-related services, with the overall presentation and service offerings being closely modelled on the plaintiff’s format.
Appearances:
Mohit Goel, Siddhant Goel, Deepankar Mishra and Soumya Khandelwal, Advocates, for Plaintiff
NA, for Defendant