The Bombay High Court refused to restrain Tata Play from using the name “Tata Play Astro Duniya” for its astrology channel. Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh held no prima facie trademark infringement in the plea by astrologer Rajeev Prakash Agarwal.
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court denied a request to stop Tata Play from using the name ‘Tata Play Astro Duniya’ for its astrology channel. Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh dismissed the interim injunction plea submitted by astrologer Rajeev Prakash Agarwal, who operates under the brand name ‘Astro Dunia.’
In a ruling delivered on March 7, the Court found no prima facie case of trademark infringement or passing off against Tata Play.
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Agarwal had approached the High Court claiming that Tata Play’s use of the name infringed on his trademark. He asserted that he has been providing astrological and spiritual services under the registered mark “Astro Dunia” since 2005, claiming exclusive rights to the name.
He argued that Tata Play’s channel, launched in December 2020, used “ASTRO DUNIYA,” which he deemed visually, phonetically, and structurally similar to his brand, differing only by the minor inclusion of a ‘Y.’
Agarwal sought an order to restrain Tata Play from utilizing “ASTRO DUNIYA” or any similar trademark.
The Court noted that Agarwal’s trademark is a composite label featuring the words “Astro Dunia” alongside a star device, and that the trademark registry had granted him this registration with a disclaimer stating that it conferred no exclusive rights over descriptive elements.
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Justice Deshmukh emphasized that Agarwal himself claimed the mark’s distinctiveness arose from the innovative combination of the English word “Astro” with the Hindi word “Dunia”, along with the star logo. Therefore, the Court prevented Agarwal from asserting any uniqueness in the term ‘ASTRO DUNIA’.
Regarding descriptiveness, the Court pointed out that ‘Astro Dunia’ merges the clipped English term ‘Astro’ (derived from astrology) with the Hindi term ‘Dunia’ (meaning world). As such, “the mark denotes the world of astrology” and is descriptive of the services provided, the judge concluded.
The order mentioned that invoices displaying the phrase ‘ASTRO DUNIA – Your World of Astrology’ clearly indicated its use in a descriptive context.
The Court remarked,
“The combination of the clipped version of the English word with the Hindi word prima facie does not make it inherently distinctive in our country, where there is a tendency of blending Hindi and English and spoken as such,”
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The Court also evaluated the marks for differences, noting that Tata Play uses ‘TATA PLAY Astro Duniya’ with the house mark prominently placed, while Agarwal’s mark presents ‘AstroDunia’ horizontally with a star device. The Court asserted that the well-known house mark ‘TATA PLAY’ is “prima facie sufficient to distinguish the rival marks.”
Additionally, the Court highlighted that Tata Play’s DTH/OTT astrology channel offers services that differ from Agarwal’s personalized, market-focused astrology advisory.
The Court expressed skepticism towards Agarwal’s claims of continuous use since 2005, pointing out that most evidence and sales figures were self-attested and linked to the company, thus undermining claims of acquired distinctiveness.
Consequently, the Court found no prima facie case of infringement or passing off and dismissed the interim application.
Advocates Rashmin Khandekar, Anand Mohan, and Grishma Mody, briefed by Kartikeya and Associates, represented Agarwal. Advocates Rohan Kadam, R Vaidya, Sanjeel Kadam, and Nitisha Lad, briefed by Kadam and Co., appeared for Tata Play.
Case Title: Rajeev Prakash Agarwal v. Tata Play Ltd & Ors.
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