In a significant legal development, the Delhi High Court has issued a restraining order against the US-based company Bajaar LLC, responsible for the “Winzos!” The application is available on Apple and Google App Stores. The Delhi High Court has slapped a powerful injunction on the company, prohibiting it from using the “Winzo” or “Winzo Games” trademarks in India. This ruling puts a major roadblock in the path of Winzos’s ambitions, safeguarding a well-established Indian gaming platform with the same name.
The legal battle stemmed from a trademark infringement suit filed by Winzo Games, an Indian mobile gaming company, against Bajaar LLC, the US company behind Winzos! Winzo Games argued that Bajaar LLC’s app, readily available in the Apple app store and Google Play store in India, infringed upon its existing trademark and could create confusion among users.
The Delhi High Court, led by Justice Prathiba M Singh, agreed with Winzo Games’ claim. The court recognized the potential for “misuse” of the domain name “www.winzos.com,” considering Winzo Games’ established presence in the Indian gaming market. Furthermore, the court noted that Bajaar LLC, despite being based outside India, was targeting the Indian market through its app’s availability.
Justice Singh’s order delivers a multi-pronged blow to Bajaar LLC. It mandates the deactivation of the “www.winzos.com” domain name extension on the Google Chrome Webstore, effectively severing a potential access point for users. Additionally, the court directed the domain name registrar to transfer the ownership of “www.winzos.com” to Winzo Games, further solidifying their trademark claim, as reported in Live Law.
In response to Google’s counsel stating that the infringing application had been removed from the Apple Store and Google Play Store, the court insisted on preventing the availability of the infringing domain names for download or reinstallation on these platforms.
This legal intervention by the Delhi High Court not only protects the established trademark of Winzo Games but also serves as a deterrent against potential misuse by entities attempting to exploit the gaming platform’s reputation.
