Delhi High Court: A suit was filed by Inter IKEA Systems BV (plaintiff) seeking permanent injunction restraining infringement of trademark, passing off, rendition of accounts, damages, and delivery up, etc. Mini Pushkarna, J., restrained defendant 1, its partners, their legal heirs, proprietors, employees, servants, agents, representatives and all others in active concert or participation with them, from selling/ advertising/ importing/ exporting or in any other way dealing in goods and providing services under the impugned mark ‘IKEY’, ‘IKEY and/or any other deceptively similar mark, in any manner which amounts to infringement of the plaintiff’s IKEA trademark and amounting to passing off of the defendant 1’s products as that of the plaintiff.
The present action concerns the plaintiff’s trademark rights in the widely recognized trademark IKEA, which was adopted by its founder in the year 1943 and has been used since then. The defendant 1 is using the impugned name and mark ‘IKEY’ along with other variants which is deceptively and confusingly similar to the plaintiff’s IKEA trademark, which is used by the plaintiff and its franchisees worldwide, including, in India, in respect of identical, allied and cognate goods i.e. home interior items such as tiles, sanitary ware, plumbing materials, hardware, paints, glass and plywood and other home interior solutions. The plaintiff is the proprietor of the well-known and internationally renowned trademark IKEA and along with its color combination and trade dress, which are the subject of many trademark registrations across several countries of the world, including, in India. The trademark IKEA forms a part of nearly all the trade names of all the companies under the plaintiff Group umbrellas as well as companies of the plaintiff Group’s franchisees. IKEA is a unique and coined word having all the trappings of an invented mark and is an inherently strong mark.
In November 2022, during a routine market survey of the Trade Marks Journal, IKEA found that the defendant had filed five trademark applications under Classes 11, 19, 21, 35, and 39, claiming a user date of February 2017. Alarmed by the similarity between “IKEY” and “IKEA,” the plaintiff issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding that the defendant cease using the mark, withdraw the trademark applications, and take down any related promotional materials. However, the defendant denied the allegations, asserting honest and bona fide adoption of the “IKEY” mark.
Unconvinced, IKEA opposed the defendant’s trademark applications. During the proceedings, the defendant failed to file evidence in support of its applications, leading to their abandonment in April 2024. However, IKEA discovered two additional applications filed by the defendant under Classes 20 and 41, prompting further opposition proceedings. By May 2024, concerned that the defendant was actively using the infringing mark in the commercial domain, IKEA conducted an investigation, which confirmed the defendant’s use of “IKEY” prominently at their premises and in promotional materials.
The Court noted that the adoption and use of the impugned mark and logo by defendant 1, in respect of similar, allied and cognate goods and services, has been mala-fide and dishonest since inception. The intention of defendant 1 is to piggyback on the plaintiff’s entrenched goodwill and reputation in the IKEA marks, which is highly unethical, dishonest and illegal. Defendant 1 on its website has indicated that they ‘showcase a wide variety of products from renowned brands’. Therefore, there is a serious apprehension that an unwary consumer will mistakenly believe that defendant 1 is engaged in stocking and selling the products of the plaintiff.
Thus, the Court held that defendant 1 is liable to be restrained from using the impugned mark IKEY and the logos / or any other variation thereto as part of its trade name and trademark ‘IKEY Home Studio’/ ‘IKEY Home Studio LLP’, which amounts to infringement of plaintiff’s registered trademark IKEA in any manner. Further, use of ‘IKEY’ as part of the domain name , through which defendant 1 conducts its business online, also amounts to infringement of the plaintiff’s IKEA trademark and defendant 1 ought to be restrained from using ‘IKEY’ as part of its domain name.
[Inter IKEA Systems BV v. I Key Home Studio LLP, CS(COMM) 1143/2024, decided on 18-12-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Ms. Shwetasree Majumder, Ms. Tanya Varma, Mr. Vardaan Anand, Ms. Ruchika Yadav, Advocates for plaintiff
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