Champak Magazine has approached the Delhi High Court alleging that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has infringed its trademark by naming the Indian Premier League (IPL)’s new AI robot dog as “Champak”.
On April 24, Justice Saurabh Banerjee issued a notice on the interim injunction application filed by Delhi Press Patra Prakashan Private Limited, which publishes the comic magazine “Champak.” The Court has given four weeks to the opposing party to file their written response, and the matter is now listed for further hearing on July 9.
The suit follows the introduction of an AI-powered robotic dog camera during the IPL, which was launched by wTVision, in partnership with Omnicam and BCCI. This new tech addition was presented as an innovative tool in the live broadcast of IPL matches.
During the hearing, the counsel for Champak Magazine argued that the use of the name “Champak” by BCCI amounts to trademark infringement, as the word is a registered trademark owned by the magazine. He claimed that its unauthorised use in a commercial setting like IPL, which earns revenue through advertising and promotions, qualifies as unfair advantage.
“The alleged unauthorised use of the ‘Champak’ mark by BCCI is infringement of its registered trademark and would amount to taking unfair advantage, especially when the same is used in a commercial setting,” the counsel submitted.
When the Court asked about the nature of commercial use in the case, the magazine's counsel explained that the name “Champak” was being used on a product that was advertised across platforms, and that this amounted to a commercial activity.
However, Justice Saurabh Banerjee expressed concern over the lack of detailed pleadings on this issue and observed that the magazine must satisfy the Court with specific legal averments instead of broad statements.
“Where is the averment that what kind of commercial element is involved? And the tournament is ongoing. They are using it for whatever reason but it will be too early for me to decide this,” the Court said.
“They are using the AI generated dog for whatever reason but the Instagram page clearly shows that [it is] based on fan votes, which is clearly their choice. Tell me what is the [commercial] element?” the judge further remarked.
The Court also pointed out that there were no specific pleadings under Section 29(4) of the Trademarks Act, which addresses infringement when a well-known trademark is used in unrelated goods or services.
On the other hand, Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak, appearing for BCCI, denied the claim and defended the use of the name “Champak.”
He argued, “Champak is not a coined word, and in fact, is the name of a flower.”
Deepak added that “Champak” is not exclusively associated with the magazine and is also linked with other characters and content in Indian media. He further mentioned that several publications had linked the robot dog to a character from the popular show ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’, not to the magazine.
He argued that the magazine’s assertion of sole ownership over the word “Champak” is a matter that should be decided at trial, not during the interim stage.
“The magazine's claim that the word 'Champak' is exclusively theirs needs to be tested at trial,” Deepak submitted.
After hearing the preliminary arguments, the Delhi High Court issued a notice on the application for interim injunction and scheduled the next hearing for July 9.
Title: Delhi Press Patra Prakashan Private Limited v. BCCI & Anr.
