In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has refused to declare “TikTok” as a well-known trademark in India, citing the Central Government’s continuing ban on the popular social media platform due to national security concerns.
Justice Manish Pitale, presiding over the matter, upheld the decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks, who had earlier denied TikTok’s request for recognition under Rule 124 of the Trade Mark Rules, 2017. The Court emphasized that the ban imposed under the Information Technology Act and Rules is a “relevant fact” that must be considered while assessing the brand’s eligibility for well-known status.
“This Court is of the opinion that the banning of the application of the petitioner i.e. TikTok by the Government of India, while exercising power under the Information Technology Act and Rules, is indeed a relevant fact taken into consideration by the Registrar,” the Court stated. “It was admitted on behalf of the petitioner that the ban still operates. Merely because the ban on certain other applications has been lifted cannot be a ground for the petitioner to claim that the impugned order is rendered erroneous.”
TikTok had filed the petition after the Registrar refused to designate its brand as a well-known trademark. The company argued that the Registrar had wrongly applied Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act (which concerns registrability) instead of Section 11, which governs the recognition of well-known marks.
Challenging the logic of the Registrar’s order, TikTok contended that the ban in India should not prevent it from being recognised as a well-known mark, especially since its brand is globally prominent. It also cited Section 11(9) of the Act, arguing that actual use in India is not a prerequisite for recognition as a well-known trademark.
However, the High Court found no fault in the Registrar’s core reasoning, even if the reference to the legal provision was imprecise. “The said mark is already a registered trade mark in India, it does enjoy all statutory protection… but in the light of the fact that the application TikTok itself has been banned… no error can be attributed to the Registrar in refusing the application,” the Court concluded.
With this, the Court dismissed TikTok’s plea, reinforcing that the government’s ban, rooted in national security, sovereignty, and public order, remains a decisive factor in assessing the mark’s legal standing in India.
Case: TikTok Limited vs Registrar of Trade Marks – Available on LAWFYI.IO
