Delhi High Court dismisses petition to restrain Ujoy Technology Pvt Ltd from using ‘Bolt’ Mark for EV charging stations
There is no justification for the court to jeopardize the market or the repute Ujoy has earned by use of the impugned ‘BOLT’ mark, for providing EV charging services, the single judge bench observed.
;The Delhi High Court dismissed the petition seeking an interim injunction in favor of Bolt Technology OU with respect to the use of the mark ‘Bolt’ in EV (electric vehicle) charging stations in India by Ujoy Technology Private Limited.
The bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar observed that since Bolt has installed only a few charging stations in some locations for charging its own vehicles, no trans-border reputation can be said to have been spilled over.
Bolt averred that Ujoy Technology used the mark ‘Bolt’ for their own charging stations and was passing off its products and services as those of Bolt’s. Bolt Technology OU argued that the brand ‘Bolt’ has immense international goodwill and reputation through its continuous use since 2018 when it was first adopted and that the reputation was spilled over by Ujoy because of their use of the ‘Bolt’ mark for their own charging stations.
Ujoy Technology argued that it is the largest player in India in the EV charging stations and added that the EV charging stations/docks were not the business activity of Bolt Technology and thus it does not enjoy any goodwill or reputation for the same.
The Court said, “There is no justification, therefore, prima facie, for the Court to, allow the application of the petitioner, who has no market exposure whatsoever in India, and, prima facie, no spillover or percolation of its trans-border reputation into India, to jeopardize the market, or the repute, that the defendant has earned by use of the impugned mark, for providing EV charging services.”
The court stated that despite the commendable efforts of the counsel, the court was not be able to grant the sought relief, as the plaintiff had not been able to cross the Toyota trans-border threshold of goodwill and reputation. Court relied on the judgment of “Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha vs. Prius Auto Industries Ltd” and stated that it is perhaps the most authoritative of the pronouncements on trans-border reputation and spillover, in the context of passing off actions.
Court further noted that since Bolt has no commercial existence in India, even if persons in India were to download its App, no services of Bolt could be availed in India. “The limited downloading of the plaintiff’s App by persons who may be traveling abroad to countries where the plaintiff’s services are available cannot, prima facie, be regarded as any sign of spillover of the plaintiff’s reputation into India, much less in the EV charging arena,” the court said.
Case Title: Bolt Technology OU versus Ujoy Technology Private Limited & Anr.