Delhi HC says bookmyshow.com trademark has not acquired distinctiveness

The Delhi High Court today refused to grant an injunction to the owners of the website bookmyshow.com against a company from using the mark ‘bookmysports.com’ or using the prefix ‘bookmy’ in their domain name..Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd (owners of bookmyshow.com), represented by Advocates Siddharth Aggarwal and Swathi Sukumar, had submitted that it holds several trademarks for ‘bookmyshow’ word marks and logos, and had also filed applications for numerous other ‘bookmyshow’ and ‘bookmy’ trademarks..It was stated that its performance in the ticketing industry has given the ‘bookmyshow’ trademark a secondary meaning associated with high standards of service delivery and professionalism..It was also contended that the prefix ‘bookmy’ is an essential part of the plaintiff’s registered trademark, as it has acquired a distinctiveness over a period of time, exclusively associated with the company. Further, it was claimed that the defendant’s trademark is deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s, and can mislead prospective clients, due to the substantial goodwill and publicity acquired by plaintiff..This, Bigtree contended, amounts to infringement and passing off of its trademark..The defendant company, represented by Advocates MK Miglani, Nitin Thukral and Aayushmaan Gauba claimed that its domain of activity – booking sports facilities – is squarely different from that of the plaintiff’s, except that they are both engaged in facilitating online bookings..It was further stated that the prefix ‘bookmy’ is not an invented phrase meriting legal protection, but a descriptive one that is common to the particular business being run..The Single Judge Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta observed that on examination of the market, the prefix ‘bookmy’ is abundant. This, the Court held, gives the impression that the prefix is not invented, but is rather a description of the type of business being run..“The phrase “BOOKMY” is not an arbitrary coupling of two English words. It is instead an apt description of a business that is involved in the booking of a particular thing for its consumers, whether it is a concert, a movie, or a sports facility.” .The Court, while dismissing the application for permanent injunction pending hearing of the case, also held that the plaintiff’s trademark ‘bookmyshow’ has not acquired a distinctive meaning in the minds of the public..Read Judgment:.Image taken from here.