In a trademark battle between two companies in the electrical goods sector, Marc Enterprises, which has been manufacturing and selling items like fans, geysers and irons under its 'MARC' brand since the early 1980s with official registrations dating back to 1984, sued Flipkart India Private Limited after the e-commerce giant began using the very similar name 'MARQ' (stylised as marQ) in 2017 for its own large appliances such as televisions, washing machines and microwave ovens sold exclusively on the Flipkart website. Marc claimed the names were confusingly alike in sound, spelling and overall look, likely to mislead ordinary customers into thinking the products came from the same source. The trial court in Delhi agreed and issued an injunction in October 2018 stopping Flipkart from using the 'MARQ' name. Flipkart appealed to the Delhi High Court, arguing that the marks were different enough especially when shown alongside the prominent 'Flipkart' house brand, that its products were sold only online where buyers search carefully, and that no real confusion was possible. After examining the long prior use by Marc, the close phonetic and visual similarity of the two names, the fact that both companies deal in allied electrical goods reaching the same customers through common trade channels, and the absence of any strong evidence from Flipkart to prove honest adoption, the court found the trial court's decision was reasonable and not perverse. Justice Tejas Karia dismissed Flipkart's appeal on 10 April 2026, upheld the injunction against using the 'MARQ' mark, but allowed the company until 15 May 2026 to clear existing stock from the market.
Flipkart India Pvt Ltd Vs Marc Enterprises Pvt.Ltd., 10.04.2026, FAO-IPD 46/2021, CM APPL. 46817/2018 & CM APPL. 54484/2018, Not Provided, High Court of Delhi, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tejas Karia
Disclaimer: Donot treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain subjective errors.
Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi
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