Delhi High Court restrains UK online classifieds company from copying contents of OLX

Delhi High Court has permanently restrained a UK-based online classifieds company and its website from copying material and contents of OLX, an Indian portal providing an online platform for people to buy and sell used products.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also stopped UK-based Padawan Ltd and its website www.TheGoodDeal.in from using the logo and trademark of OLX, saying the Indian company was “entitled to the relief of injunction”.

The court noted that there was no need for ex-parte evidence in the matter as Padawan had in August written to OLX about closure of its classified website ‘thegooddeal.in’.

“In view of the defendant no.1 (Padawan) having allowed the relief to which the plaintiffs (OLX) now confine the claim in the suit, the need for ex-parte evidence is not felt. Even otherwise, I am, on the basis of pleadings and documents on record and following the judgment in Satya Infrastructure Ltd vs Satya Infra and Estates Pvt Ltd, of the view that the plaintiffs are entitled to the relief of injunction against the defendant no.1 as sought.

“A decree is accordingly passed in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendant no.1, only of permanent injunction in terms of prayers in paragraph 48(a) to (d) of the plaint, leaving the parties to bear their own costs,” the court said in its three-page verdict.

OLX in its prayer, filed through advocate Pravin Anand, had sought a permanent injunction restraining UK-based Padawan from copying material and contents of the Indian portal and from using its logo and trademark saying it would amount to “passing off” and “trademark infringment”.

It had alleged that Padawan was “lifting” several listings of products from its website and displaying it on www.TheGoodDeal.in.

OLX, which claims to have operations in over 40 countries, had sought blocking of Padawan’s website www.TheGoodDeal.in, terming it as a “rogue site”.

It had claimed that by using its trademarks as meta-tags, which are codes used by search engines to access webpage content, Padawan was allegedly attempting to “confuse web search engines into believing that there is a connection between the two”, thereby boosting visibility of its website.

OLX, which claims to be operating in India since 2008, had contended that it was “likely to suffer dilution of goodwill, reputation and positive associations” linked to its trademarks “occasioned by the loss of distinctiveness, uniqueness and exclusivity attached thereto”.