$~J1 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Reserved on: 31^st May, 2025 Pronounced on: 24^th December, 2025 Uploaded on: 24^th December, 2025 + CS(COMM) 193/2019 & I.As. 5399/2019, 11497/2019, 18216/2019, 15451/2021, 31775/2024 COLGATE PALMOLIVE COMPANY & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Saif Khan Mr. Achuthan Sreekumar, Mr. Prajjwal Kushwah Ms. Imon Roy Mr. Achyut Tiwari Ms. Kanupriya Chawla, Mr. Swastik Bisarya Mr. Rohil Bansal Mr. Shivang Sharma, Advs.

versus NIXI & ANR. ..... Defendants Through: Ms. Akshita Jain, Advocate for D-1 (M-

9990526912).

Mr. Darpan Wadhwa; Mr. Mrinal Ojha; Mr. Debarshi Dutta; Mr. Arjun Mookerjee; Ms. Nikita Rathi; Ms. Jewel Bhateja, Mr. Nikhil Gupta; Mr. Yogesh Singh, Mr. Shivam Tiwari, Mr. Anmol Dhindsa, Advs for D-3.

Mr. Danish Faraz Khan, Mr. Abhigyan Siddhant and Mr. Rahul Sharma, Advocates for UOI with Mr. Tanmay Nirmal, Manager legal.

Mr. Tentu Satyanarayan, Director (Legal), UIDAI & Mr. Tanmaya Nirmal, Deputy Manager (Legal & Policy), UIDAI (M-9899113033).

Mr. Kushagra Goel, Mr Lovesh Goel, Ms.

Tanya Singhal, Advs. for D-7.

Mr. Akshay Goel, Mr. Shivam Narang &

Mr. Lalit Kashyap, Advocates SI Prince Kumar, PS Hauz Khas.

Mr. Sunil Gautam, SO, UIDAI.

Mr. Nishant Gautam (CGSC), Mr. Vardhman Kaushik and Mr. Prithviraj Dey, Advs. for MEITY.

Mr. C.M. Lall, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Nirupam Lodha, Mr. Kshitij Parashar, Ms. Vanshika Thapliyal, Ms. Ananya Mehan, Advs. for Verisign Inc.

CORAM:

JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH s

JUDGMENT

Prathiba M. Singh J., This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

I. BACKGROUND

1. What is a domain name? A domain name is the address of a business/individual/entity on the internet. The website built on the domain name is like a shop being built at the physical address of a business. In the internet age, domain names/websites form the `Online Soul’ of a business. In order to maintain the distinctive nature of the business, domain names are usually registered using the brand name, house name or trade mark with which the business is associated. Any misuse of the same by registration of fraudulent domain names and creation of fake websites results in erosion of the integrity and goodwill of the business house and name, as also leads to consumer deception.

2. This batch of several commercial suits have been filed by various trademark owners seeking injunctions against misuse of their trademarks through registration of domain names by unknown persons. These domain names consist of either the full trademark or a distinctive part of the trademark or the brand name and are being used for illegitimate means in order to derive monetary benefits. The domain names that are registered are being misused in various forms such as:

(i) Registration of the domain names posing themselves as the Plaintiffs and collecting money under the garb of offering jobs, dealerships, franchisees, etc. The infringing domain name is used to create a website that hosts almost identical or similar content as that of the Plaintiffs’ website. In some infringing websites similar logos or marks as that of the Plaintiffs’

are used along with misleading or deceptive information thereby enticing the general public into making payments through digital transactions into bank accounts which are not connected to the Plaintiffs.

(ii) Further, the infringing domain names are being registered for the purpose of hosting websites where counterfeit and pass-off products are being offered for sale or have been sold.

(iii) Fraudulent domain names are being used to host websites for providing services posing as the Plaintiffs.

3. The suits were instituted in respect of certain infringing domain names, with the concerned Domain Name Registrars (DNRs) impleaded as parties, as the identity of the Registrant could not be verified from the WHOIS records. The WHOIS details disclosed largely fictitious or incomplete particulars, with the sole contact point being an email address that does not disclose the identity of the Registrant. The DNRs possess only thi