Case Law Details
Sholay Media Entertainment and Anr. Vs. Yogesh Patel And Ors.(Delhi High Court)
Facts- If there is one film that transcends generations of Indians, it is ‘SHOLAY’. The said film, its characters, dialogues, settings, box office collections are legendary. Undoubtedly, ‘SHOLAY’ is one of the biggest, record-breaking films that India has ever produced, in the history of Indian cinema. The present suit has been filed by Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd. and Sippy Films Pvt. Ltd. against Defendant no. 1 to 8.
The said Defendants have registered the domain name ‘www.sholay.com’, published a magazine using the mark/name Sholay and have put on sale various merchandise, using scenes and names from the movie ‘SHOLAY’. Defendant No.5 – Netangle.com Pvt. Ltd. is a company registered by Defendant Nos. 1 to 3 as well. Defendant Nos. 6, 7, and 8 are controlling entities of the domain name ‘Sholay.com’.
Conclusion- The use of the mark ‘SHOLAY’ as part of domain names and company names, etc. are completely illegal and unlawful in these facts.
The Defendants, their directors, partners, proprietor and anyone acting for and on their behalf are restrained from using the name ‘SHOLAY’ in respect of any goods and services and also from using the domain name ‘Sholay.com’ and making any reference to the movie ‘SHOLAY’ or using any images or clippings from the said movie, as also from selling merchandise using the name SHOLAY or any images from the said cinematographic film. The Defendants shall also stand restrained from using any variation of the mark/name ‘SHOLAY’ on the internet or otherwise including use as a metatag in the source code.
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