RCB alleges Uber Moto's ad disparages its trademark

Indian Premier League cricket team Royal Challengers Bengaluru moved the Delhi High Court on Thursday and accused an YouTube advertisement of disparaging its trademark.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee, after hearing submissions of parties on Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) interim plea for injunction, reserved its order.

Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited filed a suit against Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd claiming that Uber Moto's YouTube advertisement titled "Baddies in Bengaluru ft. Travis Head" disparages its trademark.

RCB said Sunrisers Hyderabad's cricketer Head, the main character in the video, disparages its trademark.

Describing the video advertisement, RCB counsel said the cricketer could be seen running towards Bengaluru cricket stadium with an aim to vandalise the signage of "Bengaluru Vs Hyderabad", takes a spray paint and writes "Royally Challenged" before Bengaluru making it "Royally Challenged Bengaluru" which disparages RCB's mark.

The lawyer contended that when a negative comment is made, there is disparagement and added that Uber Moto, being the commercial sponsor of Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL team, while promoting its product which is booking a ride, used RCB's trademark in the course of its trade, that too its "deceptive variant", which was impermissible under law.

The counsel representing Uber said RCB had "severely discounted" the sense of humour of the public at large. The general messaging of the advertisement, the counsel said, was that there was a match between RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Bengaluru cricket stadium on May 13 and since it was a city with traffic jam, "public must use uber moto".

Uber's counsel said good humour, sense of fun and banter are intrinsic to advertising messaging and these factors "will be killed" if such a standard, as mooted by RCB, is applied.

The advertisement garnered 1.3 million views and a number of comments from users on the social media platform.