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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Date of Decision: 30^th August, 2022

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CS (COMM) 557/2021 &I.A.14400/2021

APNATIME TECH PVT. LTD. AND ANR.

..... Plaintiffs

Through:

Ms. Diva Arora Menon and Ms.

Devyani

Nath,

Advocates

(M:7042547106)

versus

TMP TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD. AND ANR. ..... Defendants

Through:

None.

CORAM:

JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH

Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. The present suit has been filed seeking permanent injunction

restraining passing off, rendition of accounts, damages, delivery up, and other

reliefs. The Plaintiffs claim to be the owner and proprietor of the mark

‘APNA’ used in respect of a mobile and web-based portal, namely ‘APNA

JOB SEARCH’ which is a networking platform that connects job seeking

individuals with potential employers.

3. The case of the Plaintiffs is that the mark ‘APNA’ forms a key and

essential feature of the corporate name of the Plaintiffs, as well as, the name

of the Plaintiffs’ mobile application ‘APNA JOB SEARCH App’, as also, the

primary business domain name being ‘www.apna.co’. The Plaintiffs case is

that through its unique networking platform, the aim is to create better

economic opportunities for the blue/grey workforce around the world by

helping the job seekers to unlock unique networking and other related

opportunities. The Plaintiffs also provide English language proficiency

This is a digitally signed Judgement.

NEUTRAL CITATION NO: 2022/DHC/003338

services and online vocational training through the ‘APNA’ application and

website. It is submitted that the Plaintiffs, apart from a very large candidate

pool, also offer a superior technological solution and use artificial intelligence

to ensure the highest level of accuracy in matches, making it easier for both

the job seeker and the prospective employer. As per the Plaint, the Plaintiffs

claim to have facilitated over four lakh professional conversations between

job seekers and prospective employers.

4. The Plaintiffs adopted the mark ‘APNA’ as a corporate name/mark on

24th April, 2019 with the incorporation of Plaintiff No.2 in the United States,

and thereafter, the incorporation of Plaintiff No.1 in India on 9th May, 2019.

The Plaintiffs registered the domain and launched a website being

www.apna.co for this purpose on 6th June, 2019. Thereafter, a mobile

application under the trademark ‘APNA JOB SEARCH’ was launched on the

Google Play Store on 26th July, 2019. The Plaintiffs’ mobile application is

stated to be available in many vernacular languages. The Plaintiffs’ mobile

application offers search services at the lowest cost in the industry and has

assisted more than 1.2 million individuals to secure interviews with over

25,000 potential employers within a span of one year of its launch. The

Plaintiffs’ business is also stated to be the first start-up to attain unicorn status

in less than two years.

5. By virtue of the continuous and uninterrupted use of the mark ‘APNA’,

both as a standalone mark and in the form of prefix to other variant marks, as

also, the promotional expenditure of the Plaintiffs, the mark of the Plaintiffs

has attained immense goodwill and reputation. The Plaintiffs have also

obtained various registrations in respect of the mark ‘APNA’ and the details

of the same have been set out in the Plaint.

This is a digitally signed Judgement.

NEUTRAL CITATION NO: 2022/DHC/003338

6. The grievance of the Plaintiffs is that, sometime in the month of

September, 2021, the Plaintiffs came across the Defendants’ website being

‘www.apnashareapp.com’, as also, their mobile application being ‘APNA

SHARE APP’. A perusal of the website and mobile application indicated the

Defendant No.1 is providing an online learning platform where individuals

can share and learn skills from experienced professionals which will further

help them secure jobs or succeed at their presen