Gym Instructor wins Trademark Battle, know How

You can build your muscles here, can even flex them. But the brawn is of no use when it comes to defending intellectual property. This was what happened with a gym instructor & owner, Ishan Qureshi, who was out to defend its brand ‘I Gymholic’ allegedly usurped by his former partners.

Qureshi recaptured the brand from his former partners, but not without court’s support. A Small Cause court has restrained his former partners – Aalamkhan Pathan & Muhibullah Saiyed – from using the trademark ‘I Gymholic’ at their fitness centre in Makarba, which was started in partnership with Qureshi.

According to case details, Qureshi used to work as personal fitness trainer until 2013. He started a gym at Makarba in partnership. It was named as ‘I Gymholic’, in which I stands for Ishran. Later, there was a dispute between partners, & Qureshi started a separate fitness centre in Bopal. His partners, however, continued to use the same brand, to which he registered his protest.

Qureshi moved the court last year. His advocate Rushvi Shah argued that Qureshi had been using the trademark on social media & his clients identified it with him only. The timeline on social media showed that Qureshi was the prior user of the trademark. Pathan & Saiyed questioned how usage of a trademark on social media made Qureshi the prior user.

However, after hearing the case, additional district & sessions judge at the Mirzapur rural court campus, Rahul PS Raghav stayed Pathan & Saiyed from using trademark ‘I Gymholic’ for their fitness centre. The judge said that they were unable to show as to why the trademark was required for their business & in what manner they were associated with this particular trademark.

The court further said, “On the other hand, the plaintiff (Qureshi) is specifically claiming that in this trademark “I Gymholic” “I” stands for the first letter of his name Ishan & the word 'gymholic' shows his obsession & interest in this profession which he has shown to have been pursuing since long.”

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