Summary
The case involved Ashish Aggarwal, founder of Jet Sports Academy of India, asserting trademark rights over "X1" and "X1 WAR OF X-TREME SPEED" against M/s Racing Promotions Pvt. Ltd, which used similar marks for motorsports events. The plaintiff established statutory rights, and the defendant was found to have knowledge of the registered marks but continued with its event. The Delhi District Court granted a permanent injunction in favour of Mr. Aggarwal, restraining the defendant from using the disputed marks or related domains. This judgment reinforces the legal protection of trademark rights in the context of sports and events in India.
Facts of the Case
The plaintiff, Ashish Aggarwal, a sports enthusiast and founder of the Jet Sports Academy of India (JSAI), claimed rights over the trademarks “X1” and “X1 WAR OF X-TREME SPEED”, adopted in July 2016 for sporting and related services. These marks were registered in 2017 under Classes 35 and 41. Mr. Aggarwal argued that he had built significant goodwill through events such as the X1 Jetski World Cup in Goa, which featured international participation and sponsorship support.
In November 2019, Mr. Aggarwal discovered on the e-ticketing platform, BookMyShow that the defendant M/s Racing Promotions Pvt. Ltd planned to conduct an event titled X1 RACING LEAGUE. He also came across the defendant’s domain x1racing.com and learned that the defendant had applied for trademark registration for the impugned mark “X1” in classes 41 and 35.
Mr. Aggarwal alleged that M/s Racing Promotions Pvt. Ltd., founded in 2018, wrongfully adopted the identical mark “X1” for its “X1 Racing League” and related motorsports events, and was soliciting its services in the South Delhi markets. He filed a suit against the defendant seeking a permanent injunction for restraining infringement of trade marks and passing off, delivery up and rendition of accounts. On 28/11/2019, the District Court granted an interim injunction restraining the defendant from using “X1” pending disposal of the suit.
The defendant countered that:
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- “X1” was inspired by the Bell X1 supersonic rocket, symbolizing speed and that the letter ‘X’ denoted “extreme” and “X-factor” .
- It had independently conceptualized “X1 Racing League” in 2017 and registered the domain www.x1rl.com.
- Plaintiff’s marks were weak, used sparingly, and lacked reputation since no major events were organized after 2017.
- Section 17 of the Trade Marks Act prevented Mr. Aggarwal from claiming exclusivity over “X1” in isolation from his composite mark.
Issues Before the Court
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- Whether Mr. Aggarwal was entitled to a permanent injunction against the defendant, Racing Promotions’s use of “X1” and “X1 Racing League.”
- Whether Mr. Aggarwal was entitled to rendition of accounts of profits made by the defendant.
- Whether the Court lacked territorial jurisdiction.
Court’s Findings
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On permanent injunction:
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The Court held that Mr. Aggarwal’s registered marks conferred statutory rights. Furthermore, evidence showed that the defendant was aware of Mr. Aggarwal’s registrations before its events but proceeded with the event. An appeal was preferred by the defendant against the order dated 28/11/2019 before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi. But the appeal was withdrawn vide order dated 16/07/2024 claiming that the impugned trademark was not in use since 2022. Since the defendant had already ceased using the impugned mark “X1,” the injunction as prayed was granted to prevent violation of Mr. Aggarwal’s trademarks by the defendant at any point of time in future.
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On rendition of accounts:
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Upon direction of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi vide the appeal, the defendant had already filed a Provisional Profit and loss summary. Hence, while deciding the issue in favour of Mr. Aggarwal, no such further directions are called for as the document is already available on record.
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On jurisdiction:
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Since bookings for the defendant’s events were easily available on BookMyShow in South Delhi, the Court relied on Banyan Tree Holding (P) Limited v. A. Murali Krishna Reddy & Anr., to affirm territorial jurisdiction.
Decision
The Court granted a permanent injunction restraining Racing Promotions from using the impugned marks “X1” or “X1 Racing League”, the domain x1racing.com and any other word, label or domain name identical or deceptively similar to Mr. Aggarwal’s registered trademarks and copyrighted labels “X1” and “X1 WAR of X-TREME SPEED”.
Citation:
Ashish Aggarwal vs M/S Racing Promotions Pvt. Ltd, [CS (COMM) 384/2019], Delhi District Court on 3rd September, 2025. Available at: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/86307928/
