Bombay High Court Quashes Rejection of Yamaha’s ‘WR’ Trademark Over Honda’s ‘WR-V’

The Bombay High Court set aside the Registrar of Trade Marks' order rejecting Yamaha's registration of the 'WR' trademark, due to its similarity to Honda’s 'WR-V' mark.

The Court held that the registrar failed to consider Yamaha’s long-standing international use of 'WR' since 1990 across 131 countries, and that such exceptional circumstances warranted deeper scrutiny.

The court observed that although both marks fall under Class 12, they apply to different products, Yamaha’s motorcycles and Honda’s cars.

The Court held that the Registrar erred by not issuing a public notice under Section 20(1) of the Trade Marks Act and directed a fresh adjudication of the application.