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The Delhi High Court has issued an ex parte ad interim injunction restraining a defendant from using the trademark “The Pioneer” and from reproducing or publishing the plaintiff’s newspaper content. The Court held that such use, after termination of a memorandum of understanding between the parties, prima facie constitutes trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and passing off.
The plaintiff is the publisher of the newspaper “The Pioneer”, which has been in operation since 1865. The plaintiff acquired the newspaper in 1998 and holds the registered trademark for “PIONEER” granted by the Trade Mark Registry on 19 June 2018. The plaintiff also claims copyright ownership over its news content and label as original literary work. In 2004, the plaintiff entered into an MoU with the defendant, permitting publication of a Bhopal edition against a monthly royalty. The arrangement was terminated on 17 February 2026 following disputes over unpaid royalties.
The Court observed that newspaper publication involves a coordinated and layered process of editing, designing, visual creation, and compilation. The plaintiff exercises intellect in the creation, curation, and presentation of content, including the selection of news, preparation of head notes, summaries, fonts, layout, sequencing of stories, and visual elements. The Court found that these elements are original and copyrightable. On a prima facie examination, the defendant was found to be copying and publishing the plaintiff’s content after the termination of the MoU.
The Court concluded that the plaintiff had established a strong prima facie case, that the balance of convenience lay in favour of the plaintiff, and that irreparable loss would be caused if the injunction were not granted. The Court restrained the defendant from reproducing, copying, publishing, or exploiting the plaintiff’s newspaper and its contents. The defendant is also restrained from representing itself as a franchisee, licensee, or authorised user of the mark “The Pioneer” and from carrying out any commercial activities, including solicitation of advertisements, under that mark. The case is listed as CMYK Printech Ltd. v. Ideal Multi Media Network (P) Ltd., CS(COMM) 338 of 2026, decided on 1 April 2026