Delhi HC To Hear Tesla's Trademark Infringement Plea On May 28

SUMMARY

The matter was initially slated to be heard by Justice Anish Dayal on May 22, but the case was deferred on account of time constraints

During the last hearing on May 2, the HC barred Tesla Power from publishing ads featuring its EV products

Earlier this year, the Elon Musk-led company filed a legal case against Tesla Power alleging infringement of trademark and unfair trade competition

The Delhi High Court (HC) on Wednesday (May 22) deferred the hearing of the trademark infringement lawsuit filed by EV auto major Tesla against Delhi NCR-based battery company Tesla Power to May 28.

As per Livemint, the matter was initially slated to be heard by Justice Anish Dayal on May 22, but the case was deferred on account of time constraints.

Earlier this year, the Elon Musk-led company filed a case alleging infringement of trademark and unfair trade competition. On May 2, the HC barred Tesla Power from publishing advertisements, featuring its EV products. It also directed Tesla Power to furnish a reply in connection with the allegations.

The EV major also argued that Tesla Power’s use of the trademark in India was causing confusion among consumers and potentially harming its business interests in the country.

Tesla Power argued that it was not involved in the business of manufacturing EV batteries but rather sold lead-acid batteries. Pleading personally before the HC, Tesla Power’s chairman Kavinder Khurana claimed that the company had no plans to enter the EV segment.

At the time, Khurana also informed the HC that Tesla Power USA Inc. did not exist anymore, adding that the company was not involved in manufacturing any EVs of any nature whatsoever.

In its petition, the EV giant claimed that it first became aware of Tesla Power India Private Limited and its US-registered entity using the “impugned marks” in April 2022. It also contended that Tesla Power had announced its foray into the EV space in 2021 via online promotional articles.

It cited a screenshot of the article published in an Indian daily that read, “Tesla announces bringing EV Scooters, charging stations to shops by 2025”. Eventually, the Elon Musk-led company sent a cease-and-desist notice to the battery maker in mid-April of 2022.

The legal tangle comes at a time when the EV juggernaut is aggressively looking to foray into the Indian market and roll out its offerings.

This comes at a time when a number of Indian startups and tech companies have been in the dock over copyright and trademark infringement cases. Earlier this year, jeans brand Killer filed a case against Netflix India for alleged trademark infringement by using the word “KILLER” in its new show ‘Killer Soup’.

In March, the Supreme Court (SC) refused to grant relief to travel tech major MakeMyTrip in connection with a trademark infringement case involving the Google Ads programme. Last year, a Bengaluru-based company Blinkhit filed a petition in a city civil court and sought to restrain Zomato’s quick commerce major Blinkit from using the trademark.