Recently, the
A total of 24 entities were impleaded before the court as Defendants on account of fraudulent activities taking place by misusing the trade dress of the Plaintiffs. The whereabouts of these defendants were unknown to the plaintiffs and it was presumed that a group of imposters were involved in this misdemeanour. Bank officials and website developers were also apprehended to be involved which was why the suit impleaded banks where the illegal money was received in the name of the beneficiary '
The main party in the case,
In
In
The Plaintiffs went on to file the Police complaint twice thereafter. They also issued a caution notice in a leading newspaper to warn possible victims. Moreover, upon filing a complaint with the Domain Registrar, the Plaintiffs were successful in getting the domain name www.mcdonaldfranchises.com suspended. However, soon after the suspension, several mirror websites were created by the Defendants.
The plaintiffs also approached the
The Plaintiffs finally submitted to the Court that the Defendants fraudulently misused their trademarks and copyrights vested in the registered words and logos for creating fake websites and inviting potential investors in applying for
The Court, after examining the claims of the Plaintiffs, granted an interim order in their favour to restrain the Defendants and their directors, partners, proprietors, agents, servants, representatives, employees and/or anyone claiming under them, directly or indirectly are restrained from infringing Plaintiffs' family of registered trademarks and copyright in the artistic work, including the Golden Arches Logo and its variations or any other confusingly and deceptively similar trademarks under the disguise of offering
The impleaded banks were directed to freeze the accounts of the Defendants with immediate effect and share the details of the account holders. The Domain Registrar was also ordered to disclose the complete identity of the registrants of the impugned domain names.
The matter is currently scheduled for another hearing before the Court.
This case brings forth how criminal activities take place by exploiting reputable brands. Scammers use identity theft by posing as a large, prominent corporation to run their schemes which widens the scope of scamming probable targets. They provide fake opportunities and deceive trusting victims all the while damaging the reputation of the impersonated business. The current state of the global economy makes people more susceptible to such scams and businesses vulnerable to being misused. A precautionary measure, as rightly done by the Plaintiffs, businesses should publish advertisements and generate awareness about such scams.
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