Bennett, Coleman Wins 'Now' Trademark Battle Against US-Based Fashion Channel
The registrations held by Bennett in 'Now' family of marks grant it exclusive rights to the entire combination in each mark.
U.S.-based channel Fashion One Television LLC has lost the battle over the coveted 'Now' trademark as the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of Bennett, Coleman & Co.
The Trade Marks Registry had initially registered the mark in favour of Fashion One in Class 38—specifically for the service of broadcast of television programmes—effective from Aug. 19, 2013.
Class 38 refers to a category that mostly covers services that enable a party to talk or share information with another. It is mainly about communication services and transmitting information.
However, Bennett asserted ownership of trademarks like Times Now, ET Now, Movies Now, Romedy Now and Mirror Now all registered under Class 38.
In an order on Monday, Justice C Hari Shankar's observation centered on Section 17(1), emphasising that the proprietary rights conferred by registration applied to the mark as a whole. This means that the exclusive rights held by Bennett for the 'Now' family of marks extend to each mark in its entirety, not specifically to the standalone term 'Now'.
The single-judge bench also pointed to Section 17(2)(a)—commonly known as the anti-dissection rule, which prevents exclusivity claims for parts of a mark registered as a whole. In practical terms, this means that Bennett cannot assert exclusive rights solely for the 'Now' part of each mark in the 'Now' family.
In light of this ruling, the registrations held by Bennett in the 'Now' family of marks grant them the exclusive rights to the entire combination of words in each mark.
