Ratan Tata's name needs to be protected from misuse, says Delhi HC

The name of the late Ratan Tata is a well-known personal name that needs to be protected from unauthorised use by any third party, the Delhi High Court said on Friday.

 

The court ruled in favour of the Ratan Tata Trust in a suit filed against journalist Rajat Srivastava, alleging that he was unauthorisedly using Ratan Tata's name to host an award ceremony.

 

The Trust had alleged that Srivastava was hosting an event titled “The Ratan Tata National Icon Award 2024” at Maharashtra Sadan, using the name and photo of Ratan Tata and charging a nomination fee. The award hosts were also claiming association with Tata Trusts, the Tata group, and Ratan Tata, the Trust alleged.

 

A single-judge bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna noted that TATA has already been declared a well-known mark and that the late Tata group chairman Ratan Tata was a well-known figure. Ratan Tata's name, as such, was liable to be protected and could not be used by a third party without consent or authorisation from the plaintiffs, the judge ruled.

 

"The aforesaid discussion clearly shows that defendant no. 1 (Srivastava) has intentionally put up posts which wrongly claim association with the plaintiff and misuse their name, by unauthorisedly using the plaintiffs' registered marks," the order said.

 

The use of Ratan Tata's name to benefit from and gain publicity through his distinct and widely regarded personality and public persona was in "bad faith and an egregious infringement of the plaintiffs' (Sir Ratan Tata Trust and others) statutory and legal rights," the court further said.