Synopsis

UAE‑based perfume manufacturers (plaintiffs) sued Indian defendants for passing off and copyright infringement. The defendants had adopted marks identical or deceptively similar to the plaintiffs’ marks, including the artistic logo of the word “Ahmed” in Arabic calligraphy. The plaintiffs claimed trans‑border reputation and goodwill in India based on sales invoices to Indian customers (who purchased abroad and brought goods to India), social media presence, and digital advertisements. The Bombay High Court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish sufficient goodwill in India for passing off – they had no direct customers in India, only minimal sales (AED 22,959 in 2021), negligible Indian advertising spend (as low as 0.01 AED), and no evidence of targeted Indian market penetration. However, the court granted an injunction for copyright infringement because the defendant’s artistic work was a slavish reproduction of the plaintiff’s original calligraphic logo, and the defendant offered no explanation for its adoption. The order partially allows the interim application (copyright relief only) but rejects passing off relief.

Court: High Court of Judicature at Bombay

Coram: Hon’ble Ms. Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh (Single Judge)

Date of Judgment: 7th May, 2026

Citation: Interim Application No. 1405 of 2026 in Commercial IP Suit No. 711 of 2025 (unreported)

Core Law: Trade Marks Act, 1999 – passing off; Copyright Act, 1957 – Sections 13, 14, 55; International Copyright Order, 1999; Intellectual property – trans‑border reputation

1. Heading of the judgment

High court of judicature at bombay

Interim application no. 1405 of 2026 in commercial ip suit no. 711 of 2025

Ahmed perfumes llc and anr. (applicants/plaintiffs) vs. Mohammed faisal rehman sultan ahmed shamsi trading as frs india and ors. (respondents/defendants)

Coram: hon’ble ms. justice sharmila u. deshmukh

Reserved on: 6th april, 2026; pronounced on: 7th may, 2026

2. Legal framework

Major laws and provisions involved:

Trade marks act, 1999 – sections 27, 28, 29, 135 (passing off)

Copyright act, 1957 – section 13 (works in which copyright subsists), section 14 (meaning of copyright), section 51 (infringement), section 55 (civil remedies)

International copyright order, 1999 – extends protection to works of WTO member countries (UAE included)

Subject matter of the judgment:

Whether a foreign entity with no physical presence in India can obtain an interim injunction against a domestic defendant for passing off based on trans‑border reputation, when its only evidence consists of (i) sales invoices to Indian customers who purchased goods abroad and brought them to India; (ii) minimal direct sales in India; (iii) negligible advertising expenditure targeted at India

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