Madras High Court Upholds Global Prior Use in MediaMonks Trademark Dispute

The Madras High Court upheld the doctrine of global prior use in trademark law, allowing MediaMonks, a Netherlands-based digital advertising firm, to remove the respondent’s "Media Monk Label" trademark. 

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy held that international usage since 2001 gave the petitioner superior rights, despite the respondent's Indian registration in 2009. 

The court found the respondent acted in bad faith, knowingly adopting a deceptively similar domain and brand. 

Citing Milmet Oftho v. Allergan, the court emphasized that global brand recognition can establish prior use, and delay alone does not bar rectification without evidence of acquiescence. (M/s Media Monks Multimedia v. Pachala Murali Krishna)