GODADDY.COM Vs. PURAVANKARA PROJECTS LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Defendants in the suit are the Applicants. By this application, the Defendants pray for a summary judgment for the dismissal of the suit.

(2.) The Applicants/Defendants stated that the first Defendant is a domain name registrar (DNR). An organization called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers(ICANN) is the umbrella organization with regard to domain names. More than 1200 generic top level domain registrars and more than 2300 ICANN accredited registrars operate under ICANN. The National Internet Corporation of India (NIXI) is the Indian registry for .in domain names. Domain names are available on a first-cum-first-served basis. According to the Applicants, they are intermediaries as per Sec. 2(1)(w) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (the IT Act). Since the Applicants are intermediaries, the Applicants asserted that they are entitled to the exemption provided for under Sec. 79 of the IT Act.

(3.) The Applicants contended that the suit has been filed only against one DNR and its group company in India. By such suit, the Respondent/Plaintiff seeks to restrain alleged infringement of trademark and passing off and seeks a mandatory injunction for the removal of the trademarks 'Purva,' 'Puravankara' and 'Puravankara Projects Limited' used separately or in combination with top level domains or sub domains and for the transfer of such domain names to the Respondent/Plaintiff or its authorized representatives. According to the Applicants/Defendants, the Plaintiff has no real prospect of succeeding in the suit. Apart from the protection under Sec. 79 of the IT Act, the Applicants also contended that necessary parties such as ICANN, NIXI and the alleged infringing registrants were not joined. Consequently, the suit is liable to be dismissed. The Applicants pointed out that the Plaintiff has registered trademarks in seven classes under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (the Trade Marks Act) and contended that the protection under the Trade Marks Act is confined to the classes in which the trademarks are registered and, even within such classes, the protection is restricted to the relevant goods or services. Unlike a trademark which is used in relation to specific goods or services, a domain name is not limited to particular goods or services. It is an address on the Internet, which applies without such limitation. In such context, the Applicants asserted that the Respondent/Plaintiff cannot claim monopoly on a pan-class basis. Hence, the reliefs claimed are untenable. The Applicants also pointed out that the word Purva has at least three meanings, namely, elder, easterly wind and east. It is also the name of a community in Kasaragod, North Kerala. The Applicants state that there are at least 650 existing domain names which use the words Purva, Puravankara and Puravankara Projects Limited or a part thereof.