"New Balance and NB" are recognized as well-known trademarks by the Delhi High Court.
New
Balance Athletics Inc., a US-based maker of sports footwear and gear, recently
had its marks "NEW BALANCE" and "NB" recognized by the
Delhi High Court as well-known trademarks [New Balance Athletics Inc v. New
Balance Immigration Private Limited].
Judge
Prathiba M. Singh observed that the trademark "NEW BALANCE"
was a special fusion of two distinguishing words: "New" and
"Balance," neither of which is related to nor describes the company's
goods or services.
The judge noted that the emblem is quite recognizable and that court orders prohibiting its abuse had been issued on multiple occasions.
This Court has looked over the plaint and the evidence that Plaintiff [New Balance] submitted to back up its well-deserved reputation. The foregoing marks "NEW BALANCE" and "NB" of the Plaintiff are, therefore, proclaimed as well-known marks by the Court based on the strength of the averments in the plaint as well as the documents and evidence in the form of Mr. Harshit Gupta's affidavit.
It
did clarify, though, that if the terms "New" and "Balance"
are used independently about any other commodity or service, there will not be
a monopoly on them.
The court rendered a decision in a lawsuit brought by plaintiff New Balance Athletics Inc., which sought to prevent New Balance Immigration Private Limited from misusing its trademarks.
The latter company used the trademarks "NEW BALANCE" and "NB" and was in the business of offering immigration and visa procurement services.
o On
October 12, 2022, the plaintiff was granted an ex parte ad interim injunction
order by the court. The claim was decreed on June 1, 2023, and the defendants
were directed to reimburse the plaintiff for ₹4 lakh in costs.
o The
following attorneys made appearances for New Balance: Alvin Antony, Jaskaran
Singh, Ayush Dixit, Ritesh Kumar, Janaki Arun, Dushyant K. Mahant, Urfee Roomi,
Anubhav Chhabra, Anuja Chaudhury, and Radhika Arora.
