AajTak has a good name and reputation, which precludes the usage of terms like AabTak, AbTak, KalTak, and others: HC

In a trademark dilution complaint filed by AajTak against multiple untraced organizations, the Delhi High Court issued a john doe order in its favor.
There is no doubt about AajTak’s reputation and goodwill, according to Justice Pratibha M Singh’s single-judge panel, and the mark ‘AAJ TAK’ has been well-established in the public realm well over years and therefore is widely utilized on social media.
The case was brought by Living Media India Ltd., which has registered the mark ‘AAJ TAK,’ trying to seek a protection order against the Defendants-owner identities of the accused domain names, restraining infringement of trademarks, copyright, passing off, dilution, rendition of accounts, damages, and other matters.
The complainant claimed that the mark is widely utilized throughout its large social media presence. It is utilized by the Media Outlet to title programs such as ‘Agenda Aaj Tak,’ ‘Sahitya Aaj Tak,’ ‘Budget Aaj Tak,’ and ‘Panchayat Aaj Tak,’ in order to generate a unique effect on the audience. They also claim to have established an extensive digital-first ecosystem with the suffix ‘TAK’ by using marks such as ‘Bharat Tak, Astro Tak,’ Fit Tak,’ Mobile Tak,’ Kids Tak,’ Life Tak,’ Mumbai Tak,’ News Tak,’ Sports Tak,’ Food Tak,’ Duniya Tak,’ Crime Tak,’ Yoga Tak,’ Tech Tak,’ Sports Tak,’ Mobile Tak,’ News Tak,
Their goodwill & reputation, it was stated, extends not only to the mark ‘AAJ TAK,’ but also to numerous formative markings of ‘AAJ TAK,’ as well as other marks ending in the word ‘TAK.’
Plaintiffs’ grievance was that numerous known and unknown parties began using Plaintiffs’ trademark ‘AAJ TAK’ on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Different parties have also posted movies that contain infringing marks which are either derived from the mark ‘AAJ TAK’ or include the suffix ‘TAK’. Some parties are also employing logo shapes and devices that are similar to the Plaintiffs’ trademarks. Such widespread use of the ‘AAJ TAK’ mark on online platforms, according to the Plaintiffs, gravely infringes on the Plaintiffs’ rights to respective marks and identities.
The Plaintiffs’ counsel claimed that the Defendants, who are anonymized websites, YouTube channels, social media pages, social media handles, and social media accounts, are infringing on the Plaintiffs’ registered signs while using the Plaintiffs’ marks and their derivatives market forms illegally and without authorization.
The Court stated that as television news station ‘AAJ TAK’ is one of India’s most prominent news channels, and that the Plaintiffs use the mark ‘TAK’ in a variety of programs and social media accounts, profiles, and handles. As a result, Plaintiffs’ rights must be safeguarded.
The Court was persuaded that there was a prima facie basis for an ad-interim injunction against certain of the Defendants. The majority of the unlawful brand logos are infringing.
“As a result, except for the name ‘Sach Tak,’ all remaining infringing profiles, accounts, videos, and channels are likely to be taken down because they are either using identical or deceptively similar names, logos, and writing styles that are a colorable imitation of the Plaintiffs’ Aaj Tak logo,” says the complaint.