Madras High Court Rules Vernacular Marks Can Infringe

The Madras High Court has ruled that using a vernacular language version of a registered trademark can constitute infringement if the marks are phonetically and visually similar. Justice K Kumaresh Babu issued the order on September 7 in a dispute between Shanghai Huanqiu Lock Making Company Limited and Indian defendant Vikas Mandoth over padlocks.

The plaintiffs, who manufacture locks under the GLOBE trademark with established reputation in India, alleged that Mandoth sold padlocks bearing a Tamil-script version of the mark. The court found the Tamil mark deceptively similar and likely to confuse consumers. It rejected arguments that the vernacular script insulated the defendant from liability, stating that such use does not entitle infringement of a mark with proven goodwill.

The court had previously granted an ex parte injunction in November 2025. Mandoth sought to vacate it, claiming independent development of the mark. The ruling reinforces protections for foreign and domestic trademark owners against transliterated or script-adapted copies in India.

This decision highlights the judiciary's approach to linguistic adaptations in trademark disputes, particularly in multilingual markets where consumers may recognize marks across scripts.

Sources: https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/using-visually-similar-vernacular-versions-of-registered-trademark-is-infringement-madras-high-court https://www.barandbench.com/topic/trademark-infringement