MakeMyTrip moves HC against WIPO order favouring Tatas

Travel portal MakeMyTrip has moved the Delhi High Court challenging a recent ruling by global intellectual property regulator WIPO that directed it to handover domain name www.Oktatabyebye.Com to Tata Sons.    

In its petition, MakeMyTrip submitted that its domain name www.Oktatabyebye.Com does not clash with the registered trademark of Tata Sons and it had a mere phonetic similarity.    

The matter will be again taken up by the court's registrar on January 11, 2010.    

In August, 2009, allowing the plea of Tata Sons, Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) had consented with its contention that the domain name was confusingly similar to its 'Tata' brand and the travel portal has no rights or legitimate interests to use it.    

It also directed MakeMyTrip to transfer domain name to Tata Sons.     

"The decision of the panel (WIPO) is causing irreparable harm to MakeMyTrip and is likely to dilute distinctive character of its services and reputation which is likely to be debased and eroded," said MakeMyTrip in its petition filed through its law firm Lal & Sethi.     

It further submitted that due to long and continuous use and extensive advertising and sales promotion of the domain name www.Oktatabyebye.Com, it is exclusively associated with them.

The travel portal claimed that the affinity of the domain name with Tata Sons house mark 'Tata' was so distant that no internet user would get confused by the domain of MakeMyTrip and Tata Sons.     

Rejecting Tata's allegations that by using word 'Tata', it tried to ride on its goodwill, MakeMyTrip said that "the domain name is derived from the common parlance 'Ok Ta Ta Bye Bye' since it signifies travel, journey and related activities."    

The expression bidding farewell has been used by using the generic word 'Ta Ta' in the same flow as 'Ok' and ending at 'Bye Bye'.