 "Snapdeal")
The Delhi High Court has restrained various entities from infringing on e-commerce shopping website Snapdeal's trademark.
Justice J R Midha passed the interim order after the counsel for Snapdeal alleged that several persons and entities were misusing the name of the e-commerce marketplace to run fraudulent schemes and dupe customers.
The high court said it was satisfied that ex-parte ad-interim injunction was warranted in this matter and also restrained the defendants from passing off their activities and business as that of the e-commerce giant or affiliated to it till the next date of hearing, on January 8.
It also issued notices to the entities and sought their responses by January 8.
The suit filed by M/s Jasper Infotech Private Limited, which operates Snapdeal, sought that action be taken against those, who were misusing the brand's name to run fraudulent schemes.
The court also directed Go Daddy.com LLC, Endurance Domain Technology LLP, Wild West Domain LLC etc, to suspend infringing domain names during the pendency of the present proceeding.
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It also said that the entities' bank accounts, which were used to receive funds, be freezed and directed authorities to send the compliance report before the next date.
According to the plea, scamsters were found to be using the website's name to invoke trust amidst unsuspecting members of the public and inducing them to pay money on the basis of false promises of expensive gifts/ prizes such as Tata Safari and others.
The fraudulent offers were extended through SMS, phone calls, websites and scratch cards, it claimed.
As part of their modus operandi, scamsters were found to be using multiple mobile numbers and bank accounts in a manner intended to make it very difficult for them to be identified without a very coordinated investigation and enforcement by various law enforcement agencies, the plea alleged.
It claimed that offenders have been siphoning off money from unsuspecting general public by illegally using the website's trademark and that it has no involvement or association with any such schemes.
