ICICI BANK LTD Vs. ASHOK THAKERIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) I.A. 14396/2013 (For Exemption)

(2.) In the first week of September, the plaintiff alleges that it came across a trailer of the defendant's movie 'Grand Masti', which depicts the plaintiff's bank in bad light. The grievance of the plaintiff is that, the trailer of the movie depicts a robbery which appears to be taking place in a bank carrying the banner/poster 'IBIBI', used in conjunction with a logo which is deceptively similar to the 'i' device of the plaintiff. The said scene also carries a banner/poster containing the message

(3.) The above mentioned banner/poster is a verbatim replica of the plaintiff's poster, carrying the same font, layout and colour scheme, barring the term IBIBI which is used in place of ICICI. Screen shots of the impugned scene depicting the bank robbery, as well as the plaintiff's original banner/poster regarding its Most Trusted Brand Award is placed on record. The plaintiff apprehends that the defendants convey through the impugned scene, that the plaintiff's bank is a bank with extremely weak security, and that customers' deposits are unsafe in their custody. And that this ex facie, amounts to commercial disparagement of their service, thereby adversely affecting and tarnishing the goodwill, reputation and brand equity associated with the plaintiff's well known trade mark ICICI and the 'i' device.