The Delhi High Court has recently ruled in favor of fintech company BharatPe by restraining the use of the 'Bharatpay' mark as well as the domain name linked to services such as utility bill payments, data recharges, insurance, and financial services.
Justice Amit Bansal, who presided over the case, observed that the 'Bharatpay' mark was not only phonetically identical but also visually, structurally, and conceptually similar to the 'BharatPe' trademark.
The court issued an ad-interim injunction in favor of Resilient Innovations Private Limited, the parent company of BharatPe, in its trademark infringement lawsuit against M/S Bharat Pay.
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"In view of the above, a prima facie case of infringement of trademarks and passing off is made out on behalf of the plaintiff in its favor. Clearly, an attempt has been made by the defendant No.1 to create an impression that the impugned services rendered by the defendant No.1 are associated with the plaintiff," the Court stated in its ruling.
BharatPe brought the matter to the court's attention after discovering that a mobile application under the name 'Bharatpay' was being used to offer services that were identical to those provided by the fintech company.
Recognizing the potential for consumer confusion, the court directed the suspension of the infringing domain name, 'www.bharatpay.net,' and the blocking of the phone number used by the defendant entity.
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"The defendants No.4 to 6 are directed to issue notifications calling upon the internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to the impugned website," the Court ordered.
This ruling is a significant development in trademark protection for fintech companies, reinforcing the legal principle that businesses must safeguard their intellectual property rights against misuse and deceptive similarities.
Title: RESILIENT INNOVATIONS PRIVATE LIMITED v. M/S BHARAT PAY AND ORS