INFO EDGE (India) Ltd vs Akash Deep & Ors

Jayant Nath, J

The present suit is filed seeking a decree of permanent injunction against the defendants etc. from using the mark CVNAUKRI.COM,

CVNAUKRI.CO.IN, CVNAUKRI.IN, CVNAUKRI.ORG AND RESUMENAUKRI.COM or any other mark consisting the word NAUKRI as a

prefix or suffix. Other consequential reliefs are also sought.

As per the plaint Defendant No.4 is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and first and second defendants are the Directors of

Defendant No. 4. Defendant No. 3 is the person who has created the website. It may be noted that as far as defendant No.3 is concerned the matter

was settled with the plaintiff. On 12.05.2017 the statement/ undertaking of defendant No. 3 was taken on record. In view of the said statement,

plaintiff had stated that they do not press any further relief against defendant No.3. Defendants No.1, 2 and 4 were proceeded ex parte as on

12.05.2017.

It is the contention of the plaintiff that the plaintiff is running the country’s number 1 job-seeking website NAUKRI.COM since 1997. It is

pleaded that the said website by virtue of its extensive and substantial use, the word NAUKRI has acquired a secondary significance and is

exclusively identified with the plaintiffs. Reliance is placed on judgment of this court in M/s. Infro Edge (India)Pvt. Ltd. vs. Shailesh Gupta and Anr.

98(2002) DLT 499 to support the above contention. It is pleaded that as on 31.03.2014 NAUKRI.COM had a database of 37.5 million registered

jobseekers with 1,22,326 live job listings. The shares of the plaintiff are traded in the National Stock Exchange. The revenue figures and advertising

figures of the plaintiff’s services are given in paragraph 5 of the plaint. It is pleaded that the trademark NAUKRI is registered in India in respect

of computer software in class 9 and 16 since 26.11.1999. The word NAUKRI forms an essential and distinct part of the plaintiff’s registered

trademark. The trademarks NAUKRI.COM and NAUKRI.ORG are also registered in the name of the plaintiff.

It is pleaded that in April, 2013 the plaintiff became aware that the defendants are operating under the style of CVNAUKRI.COM and were

getting in touch with the customers of the plaintiff and representing themselves to be a part of the plaintiff’s group of companies. Further, the

domain name www.cv.naukri.com was created on 22.02.2013.

A complaint is also said to have been filed with the Noida Police (Cyber Crime Cell) on 25.09.2013. It is also pointed out that the plaintiff received

in April, 2014 a Show Cause Notice from the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Kolkata Unit-1 filed by a jobseeker against

CVNAUKRI.COM. The plaintiff was impleaded as a co-respondent in the complaint. It is hence pleaded that the defendants No. 1, 2 & 4 are

illegally using the name CVNAUKRI.COM, CVNAUKRI.CO.IN, CVNAUKRI.IN, CVNAUKRI.ORG AND RESUMENAUKRI.COM and are

creating a false and misleading impression that they are closely associated with the plaintiff. It is further pleaded that the use of these trademarks by

the plaintiff is an infringement of the plaintiff’s registered trademark and also amounts to passing off of the defendants’ services as that of the

plaintiff’s services. The domain names as well as the trading style are deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s well known and registered

trademark which includes NAUKRI.COM.

Plaintiff has filed an affidavit by way of evidence of Mr.Amitendra Singh Antal. He has on oath repeated the contentions, as noted above. He has

exhibited the registrations of the various domain names. He has pleaded that the plaintiff is the owner of various domain names other than

NAUKRI.COM which contain the word NAUKRI. The registration documents have been exhibited as Ex.PW1/7 to Ex.PW1/19 respectively. It is

stated that the word mark NAUKRI in respect of computer software in classes 9 and 16 are exhibited as Ex.PW1/20 and Ex.PW 1/21. The word

NAUKRI also forms an essential and distinctive part of the plaintiff’s various registered trademarks. Original certified copies of registrations are

exhibited as Ex.PW1/22 to Ex.PW1/28 respectively. He has further pleaded that the plaintiff has invested more the Rs. 14 crores on advertisement

and promotion to earn revenue of more than Rs. 270 crores with respect to the website “NAUKRI.COMâ€. Original Certificate of the Chartered

Accountant on advertisement expenditure for the years 2008 -2009 to 2012 â€" 2013 dated 23.04.2014 is exhibited as Ex. PW 1/30. Various other

documents, brochures, paper and article cutting which affirms that the plaintiff is the owner of the word NAUKRI have also been exhibited.

It is manifest from the above that defendants No. 1, 2 and 4 have infringed the trademark of the plaintiff and have also carried out acts in a manner

which amounts passing off their goods as that of the plaintiff. Defendants are also infringing the statutory rights of the plaintiff.

Accordingly, a decree is passed in favour of the plaintiff and against defendants no. 1, 2 and 4 in terms of prayer 30(a) and (b) of the plaint.

Plaintiff shall also be entitled to recovery of damages of Rs.5 lacs. Plaintiff shall also be entitled to costs.

Suit stands disposed of. All pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of.