Delhi High Court Issues Directions to Curb Online Trademark Misuse and Fraud by DNRs

The Delhi High Court issued directions to curb online fraud and trademark misuse by Domain Name Registrars (DNRs) in a batch of cases.

The case arose when Dabur India Limited reported that several websites and domain names falsely offering Dabur distributorships and franchises had collected money from unsuspecting members of the public.

The Court observed that DNR services are often misused to register domains deceptively similar to well-known trademarks and warned that registrars may lose safe harbour protection and face liability for damages in appropriate cases.

Holding the existing framework unsatisfactory, the Court ordered suspension and blocking of multiple infringing domain names.

[Dabur India Ltd. v. Ashok Kumar & Ors.]