BLINKIT VS BLINKHIT

This is the case of Blink Commerce Private Limited (BLINKIT) vs. Blinkhit Private Limited & Anr. (BLINKHIT). The trial court ruled against Blinkit, the famous instant delivery app company, by granting a temporary injunction against them for infringing a registered trademark from 2016 that is “BLINKHIT”. The temporary injunction and the judgment by trial court was recently overturned by the Karnataka High Court.

Blinkit argued on the following points:

1. The business activities by both the parties are carried out in entirely different classes.
2. Mere registration of trademark without its use is insignificant.
3. Looked into Section 17 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 i.e., Effect of Registration.
4. Blinkit’s device mark is visually, phonetically, and structurally different from “BLINKHIT”.

Here the High Court said, temporary injunction cannot be granted because business is being carried out in different class of services and “BLINKHIT” was not carrying on any business with the same name. This case works as precedent to show that "a mere trademark registration without its use does not grant the proprietor any statutory rights and hence cannot be a ground for seeking of an injunction".

KEY POINT: A Trademark should be used/ in usage for it to be protected under the Act.