Even though William Shakespeare argued that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” companies know that a name is part of the brand – and they will go to great lengths to protect it and prevent others from using likenesses and rip them off.
That’s the case with a lawsuit BMW filed against an Indian EV maker that had been selling electric rickshaws under the name DMW. On the face of things, this would seem a classic scenario of a big, bad corporation going after the little guy. In reality though, it was a case of seeking justice, with the high court in India ruling in favor of copyright infringement.
Last week, a judge sided with BMW and granted them an injunction against Om Balajee Automobile, blocking the latter from selling EVs under the DMW name, The Economic Times reports. Previously, OBA had tried to argue that they had been using the DMW name for their e-rickshaws since 2013, while BMW only sued them over copyright infringement 4 years later, in 2017.
In other words, their argument was that the lawsuit should be dismissed on the grounds that BMW should have sued earlier. The high court judge did not see things in the same light and ruled that the DMW name was infringing on the German company’s property by taking advantage of its reputation and goodwill.
“Even if there was delay on the part of the plaintiff (BMW) in filing of the present suit as has been claimed by the defendant (Om Balajee), the same delay would not be sufficient to deter grant of injunction in favor of plaintiff,” the judge ruled, adding that the defendant had shown a “dishonest intention” from the start.
The DMW name was “visually and phonetically similar” to BMW, the judge said. “It is likely to mislead an average man of ordinary intelligence.”
Consequently, the Indian company has been blocked from “manufacturing exporting, importing or offering for sale, advertising or in any manner dealing with goods not limited to e-rickshaws bearing the mark DMW or any other mark which are identical or deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s BMW marks.”
As of March 28, Om Balajee Automobile was still promoting its DMW products on their social media platforms.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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