Delhi High Court Restrains Wow! Momo from Using ‘Wow! China Bistro’ Trademark, Citing Deceptive Similarity

In a recent legal development, the Delhi High Court has issued an interim injunction against the fast-food chain Wow! Momo, preventing it from using the trademark ‘Wow! China Bistro’. The order came in response to a trademark infringement suit filed by China Bistro against Wow! Momo, alleging that the latter's use of the mark constituted an infringement of its own trademark.

Justice C Hari Shankar issued the interim order on August 3, stating that, on a prima facie basis, the two trademarks were deceptively similar. The Court noted that an average customer with imperfect recollection could potentially believe that the two restaurants were associated or managed by the same entity.

The Court's reasoning hinged on the scenario of a customer encountering China Bistro's eatery one day and Wow! China Bistro's outlet a few days later. Given the lack of awareness of the reputation of either mark, the Court concluded that confusion between the two establishments was plausible, warranting the injunction.

The interim order prohibits Wow! Momo and its affiliates from using the name ‘Wow! China Bistro’ or any similar variant in various contexts, including trademarks, labels, logos, and domain names, until further orders are issued in the ongoing lawsuit.

The Court, however, clarified that the use of the term 'Wow! China' is not prohibited. The case arose from China Bistro's claim that Wow! Momo had originally used the term 'Wow China' but later added 'Bistro', resulting in a mark that was strikingly similar to its own.

Wow! Momo argued that neither the terms 'China' nor 'Bistro' could be individually registered as trademarks and that China Bistro had disclaimed exclusivity over both terms. Nevertheless, the Court found that the composite mark 'China Bistro' had distinctiveness, as it could not be considered a mere combination of two ordinary words.

Source: Link