Delhi High Court Restrains ‘FranchiseByte’ From Publishing YouTube Videos Using ‘WOW! MOMO’ Mark

The Delhi High Court has recently restrained FranchiseByte, a website providing franchises for various Indian start-ups, from advertising or publishing videos using “WOW! MOMO” trademark.

Justice C Hari Shankar also directed the website to take down all videos relating to WOW! MOMO from its YouTube channel.

“The defendant is further directed to take down all contents relating to plaintiff, and all references to the plaintiff or to its mark WOW! MOMO on its website www.franchisebyte.com,” the court added.

Justice Shankar was dealing with a suit filed by Wow Momo Foods Private Limited against FranchiseByte which was holding itself out as an agency which can provide franchises for the former.

The suit referred to a video clip available on YouTube wherein representatives of the defendant website were offering franchises for Wow Momo’s business.

It was Wow Momo’s case that the website’s representatives, in the video, claimed that in order to become a franchisee of the fast food chain, any interested person could click the link in the description and provide details, after which Wow Momo’s representative would get in touch with him.

The suit alleged that the link, when clicked, took the viewer to another website of the defendant website, which contained details of alleged franchises of Wow Momo.

It was alleged that the use of the Wow Momo’s registered trade mark “WOW! MOMO” on the defendant website constitute trademark infringement.

It was also submitted that the website also duped and mislead persons into believing that Wow Momo was providing franchises through the website in question and thus, general public was being defrauded.

Issuing summons in the suit, Justice Shankar observed that In if injunction is not granted ex parte in favour of Wow Momo, it would result in the defendant website continuing to defraud the public at the expense of the former.

“Inasmuch as the assertions in the plaint indicated that a is calculated fraud being perpetrated by the defendant, by luring persons into applying for becoming franchisees of the plaintiff, where no such franchises actually extended by the plaintiff and, in the process, is also infringing the plaintiff’s registered trade mark by making unauthorised use thereof, a case for grant of interlocutory injunction is made out,” the court said.

Counsel for Plaintiff: Ankur Sangal, Partner, Khaitan & Co, along with his team comprising Ankit Arvind (Senior Associate), Kiratraj Sadana (Associate) and Nidhi Pathak (Associate).

Counsel for Defendant: None

Title: WOW MOMO FOODS PRIVATE LIMITED v. FRANCHISEBYTE

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 1035

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