Delhi HC dismisses IPL team RCB's plea against Uber Moto's YouTube advertisement
New Delhi, May 5 (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by Indian Premier League cricket team Royal Challengers Bengaluru against a YouTube advertisement of Uber Moto featuring Sunrisers Hyderabad's cricketer Travis Head, saying no prima facie case of disparagement or infringement of trademark was made out.
The court opined that the general perception created by holistic viewing of the advertisement is one of healthy banter and good-natured lighthearted humour, as it refused to grant an interim injunction on the advertisement.
The high court said in the advertisement there was "no element of demeaning/ criticism/ condemning/ ridiculing/ defaming/ mocking or falsity" with a view to injure or harm the RCB trademark or RCB cricket team.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee dismissed the application by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, saying it does not call for any interference at this stage.
"All throughout the impugned advertisement, there is no (in)direct imputation/ insinuation/ comparison/ exaggeration/ sensationalism/ distortion of matters of fact of any kind by any of the defendants against the RCB trademark/ RCB cricket team," the court said in its 35-page order.
Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited filed a suit against Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd claiming that Uber Moto's YouTube advertisement titled "Baddies in Bengaluru ft. Travis Head" disparages its trademark.
The court, which passed the order on an interim application by RCB for relief, added the advertisement cannot be said to be false and misleading at this stage and there is no scope of any kind of irreparable harm, loss and injury likely to be caused to the plaintiff due to non-grant of temporary injunction.
The court said there is no prima facie case of disparagement or infringement of trademark made out by the plaintiff in its favour and against the defendants.
"The impugned advertisement is in the context of a game of cricket, a game of sportsmanship, which, in the opinion of this court, does not call for interference of any sort at this stage, especially while this court is considering the present application...
"More so, since in a case like the present one, interference by this court, at this stage, would tantamount to allowing the plaintiff to run on water with assurances of their not falling," Justice Banerjee said.
The court said there is nothing underlying in the advertisement which can trigger or motivate any members of the general public, much less any of the players/ viewers/ followers of any of the RCB or SRH cricket teams at this stage.
"There can be no one-sided impression or one-sided version of the impugned advertisement, particularly, since what according to the plaintiff is ‘right’ can according to the defendants be ‘wrong’, and vice versa.
"The act(s) of disparagement cannot be concluded on the basis of the reviews/ comments/ statements made by few viewers/ followers as there are always two sides of a coin. In any event, the same cannot form or be the benchmark for determining the act of disparagement and/ or infringement... This is not a telltale," the court said.
Earlier, describing the video advertisement, RCB's counsel said the cricketer could be seen running towards Bengaluru cricket stadium with an aim to vandalise the signage of "Bengaluru Vs Hyderabad", takes a spray paint and writes "Royally Challenged" before Bengaluru making it "Royally Challenged Bengaluru" which disparages RCB's mark.
The lawyer contended that when a negative comment is made, there is disparagement and added that Uber Moto, being the commercial sponsor of Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL team, while promoting its product of booking a ride, used RCB's trademark in the course of its trade, that too its "deceptive variant", which was impermissible under law.
The counsel representing Uber said RCB had "severely discounted" the sense of humour of the public at large.
Uber's counsel said good humour, sense of fun and banter are intrinsic to advertising messaging and these factors "will be killed" if such a standard, as mooted by RCB, is applied.
The advertisement, by then, had garnered 1.3 million views and a number of comments from users on the social media platform.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
