Inter Ikea Systems BV, owner of the globally renowned IKEA trademarks registered in India since 2007 with worldwide sales of 44.6 billion Euros in 2022, filed a suit for permanent injunction against infringement and passing off after discovering in 2023 that defendants Jin Hua Zhang and AT were operating phishing websites misusing the IKEA mark to falsely advertise and sell identical home furnishing products, leading to deception as evidenced by plaintiff's undelivered test order; domain registrars NameSilo LLC and Namecheap Inc., along with DoT and MeitY, were impleaded as proforma defendants. Ex-parte ad-interim injunction was granted on 01.06.2023; infringing defendants, served in 2023-2024, failed to file written statements, leading to closure of their right on 01.08.2024. At final hearing, plaintiff pressed only for injunction; court found unauthorized use caused deception, irreparable harm to goodwill, and with no contest, deemed plaint averments admitted, decreeing permanent injunction under Order VIII Rule 10 CPC while deleting proforma defendants and disposing other reliefs as not pressed.
- Failure to file written statement deems plaint averments admitted, enabling decree under Order VIII Rule 10 CPC without ex-parte evidence: Inter Ikea Systems Bv vs Jin Hua Zhang And Others, Para 29.
- Unauthorized use of registered trademark on identical goods via phishing websites constitutes infringement and passing off, warranting permanent injunction due to likelihood of confusion and harm to goodwill: Inter Ikea Systems Bv vs Jin Hua Zhang And Others, Para 25.
Case Title: Inter Ikea Systems Bv Vs Jin Hua Zhang : 19.12.2025:CS(COMM) 390/2023:Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora
[Readers are advised not to treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain errors in perception, interpretation, and presentation]
[Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi]
