NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction in favour of the Goethe-Institut, a German cultural association operating six educational centres across India under the name ‘Max Mueller Bhavan’. The order stops another entity from using the name ‘Max Mueller Institute’ to offer German language education.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, while delivering the order on May 6, said, “...in the area of education, any chance of confusion should be completely avoided. The use of identical names for two institutions imparting education would result in enormous confusion, resulting in damaging effect.”
The Court observed that Goethe-Institut has been using the name since 1957, while the opposing party adopted the mark only in 2018. Although the defendants claimed to hold a registered trademark, the Court reaffirmed that under Section 34 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, a prior user’s rights take precedence over a registered trademark.
“The fact that the mark of a party is not registered is no bar to a case for passing off, if the ingredients of passing off are established,” the Court said while granting interim relief.
The defendants argued that Goethe-Institut uses its German name officially and that ‘Max Mueller Bhavan’ refers only to a building, not a trademark. However, the plaintiff countered that the name is closely tied to their educational services in India and is widely recognised.
Supporting this, the Court noted that documents like newspaper reports, MoUs and social media evidence all showed that ‘Max Mueller Bhavan’ has consistently been used as a brand name. It also remarked, “The mark MAX MUELLER BHAVAN is prominently displayed outside the institutes of the plaintiff in India…Even the Government of India recognises the plaintiff’s institutes in India, as MAX MUELLER BHAVAN…” The Court concluded that the defendant’s name could mislead the public.