The Delhi High Court has clarified that when the infringing use is coupled with alleged fraudulent online payment and earning schemes, the conduct may be treated not merely as trademark infringement and passing off, but also as prima facie phishing and cyber fraud justifying urgent intervention. The Court therefore granted an ex parte ad interim injunction restraining defendant no.1 and all persons acting on its behalf from using, displaying, reproducing, hosting, operating or otherwise dealing with the trademarks/labels “GOLDIEE”, “ONE ONE” and “GOLDIEE ONE ONE NOODLES”, the plaintiff’s mascot/device marks, packaging, labels, artistic works, trade dress, or any deceptively similar marks or artistic works in relation to the impugned website or any other online platform/domain name amounting to infringement, passing off, dilution or unauthorised association with the plaintiff.
The Court further directed defendant nos.2 and 3, namely DYNADOT INC. and CLOUDFLARE INC., to block and suspend the impugned website within 72 hours after being supplied with a copy of the order by the plaintiff’s counsel. They were also directed to preserve all domain registration records, KYC details, server logs, payment records and related electronic material pertaining to the impugned website.
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Saurabh Banerjee recorded that the plaintiff was seeking ad interim relief and therefore exempted it from instituting pre-litigation mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. On merits of the injunction application, the Bench noted the plaintiff’s pleadings, screenshots and documents and observed that the adoption by defendant no.1 of a domain name encompassing the plaintiff’s trademark “GOLDIEE”, along with the use of the plaintiff’s trademarks “GOLDIEE” and “ONE ONE”, packaging, labels, artistic works, mascot/device character and branding material, prima facie reflected an attempt to ride upon the goodwill of the plaintiff and create confusion or deception among the public by showing an association with the plaintiff.
The Bench further observed that members of the public were making payments and participating in activities on the impugned website, including recharge/payment and withdrawal facilities, and held that defendant no.1 was prima facie guilty of phishing and cyber fraud. On that basis, the Bench found that the plaintiff had made out a prima facie case, and that the balance of convenience and probabilities tilted in its favour, with continued use being likely to cause irreparable harm, loss and injury to the plaintiff.
Briefly, the plaintiff, Shubham Goldiee Masale Pvt Ltd., instituted a commercial suit seeking permanent injunction for infringement of its trademarks, copyrights and artistic works, passing off, unauthorised usage of domain name, and damages. The plaintiff pleaded that it is engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing food products, including spices, and is proprietor of the trademarks “GOLDIEE”, “ONE ONE” and “GOLDIEE ONE ONE NOODLES”, along with other GOLDIEE formative marks, which have been used continuously for several years. It was also pleaded that the mark “GOLDIEE” has been recognised as a well-known trademark under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
The plaintiff stated that in the third week of May 2026 it became aware of the impugned website “https.//goldeeejkskksnewmasala.live/” through a complaint/email and subsequent telephonic queries, and upon verification found that the website was allegedly operating an unauthorised and fraudulent online scheme while displaying the plaintiff’s marks, labels, packaging, artistic works and branding material without authority. Defendant no.2, DYNADOT INC., was impleaded as the domain name registrar, defendant no.3, CLOUDFLARE INC., as the web hosting service provider, and defendant nos.4 and 5, namely DoT and MeitY, were impleaded to assist in compliance with blocking/takedown directions.
