Delhi High Court Grants Interim Injunction Against Fraudulent Burger King Websites

The Delhi High Court has granted Burger King Corporation an interim injunction, ordering the suspension of domain names and websites that infringe upon its "BURGER KING" trademarks.

Burger King Corporation, the plaintiff, sought legal action against unidentified defendants accused of operating fraudulent franchise and dealership websites using its trademarks. The alleged perpetrators registered domain names incorporating variations of "BURGER KING," "INDIA," "FRANCHISE," or "FRANCHISES" to deceive the public. The domain names under dispute include burgerkingindia.co, bkpartner.in, bkfranchise.in, burgerkingfranchise.net, and www-burgerking.com.

The defendants allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities, falsely claiming to offer Burger King franchise opportunities. They reportedly solicited applications from unsuspecting individuals and subsequently sent deceptive emails posing as representatives of Burger King's master franchisee in the Asia-Pacific region. Furthermore, they circulated counterfeit documents featuring Burger King's trademarks, including "approval letters," "letters of intent," and "invoices."

Justice Prathiba M. Singh noted that the Court had previously issued injunctions against various unlawful domain names related to the case. In a prior ruling on May 10, 2022, the Court had ordered multiple defendants to cease using or registering corporate names, domain names, or websites containing the trademarks BURGER KING, BK, or any similar mark. The defendants were also prohibited from advertising or providing goods and services under these trademarks.

To curb further fraudulent activities, the Court has directed Domain Name Registrars GoDaddy.com LLC and OVI Hosting Pvt. Ltd. to suspend the contested domain names and associated email addresses. Additionally, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and the Ministry of Communications have been instructed to ensure that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) block access to the fraudulent websites.

In a significant move, the Court also ordered Bharti Airtel Limited to disable the mobile IDs linked to the fraudulent activities and provide the defendants' details, including names, residences, phone numbers, email addresses, billing and payment information, and Know Your Customer (KYC) documents.

This ruling marks another step in Burger King’s ongoing legal battle to protect its brand integrity and prevent financial fraud perpetrated against consumers through deceptive online schemes.

Read Judgement here.