Delhi High Court - Orders
Verizon Trademark Services Llc & Ors vs Verizon Venture Advisors Llp & Anr on 7 July, 2025
Author: Amit Bansal
Bench: Amit Bansal
$~21
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ CS(COMM) 659/2025 with I.A. 15600/2025 I.A. 15601/2025 I.A.
15602/2025, I.A. 15603/2025, I.A. 15604/2025, I.A. 15605/2025 &
I.A. 15606/2025
VERIZON TRADEMARK SERVICES LLC
& ORS. .....Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Ms. Vaishali
Mittal, Mr. Siddhant Chamola and
Ms. Shejal Arora, Advocates.
versus
VERIZON VENTURE ADVISORS LLP & ANR. .....Defendants
Through: None.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL
ORDER
% 07.07.2025 I.A. 15603/2025(O-XI R-1(4) of the CPC)
1. The present application has been filed on behalf of the plaintiffs seeking leave to file additional documents.
2. The plaintiffs are permitted to file additional documents in accordance with the provisions of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018.
3. Accordingly, the application is disposed of.
I.A. 15601/2025 (u/s 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015)
4. As the present suit contemplates urgent interim relief, in light of the judgment of the Supreme Court in Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Krithi, 2023 CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 1 of 9 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50 SCC Online SC 1382, exemption from the requirement of pre-institution mediation is granted.
5. The application stands disposed of.
I.A. 15602/2025 (u/O XI Rule 2 of the CPC)
6. Issue notice to the defendants through all permissible modes.
7. Reply be filed within four (4) weeks.
8. Rejoinder thereto, if any, be filed within two (2) weeks thereafter.
9. List before the Joint Registrar on 9th September, 2025.
10. List before the Court on 12th November, 2025.
I.A. 15606/2025 (under Section 80 of the CPC)
11. The present application has been filed on behalf of the plaintiffs under Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 seeking exemption from serving two months' notice to the defendant no.2.
12. In view of the urgent relief sought, exemption is granted to the plaintiffs from serving the requisite notice to the defendants no.2 under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
13. The application is disposed of.
I.A. 15604/2025 (seeking exemption from filing originals, clear copies of documents, etc.)
14. Allowed, subject to the plaintiffs filing legible/ clear copies of documents and documents with proper margin within four (4) weeks from today.
15. The plaintiffs are exempted from filing the originals at this stage.
16. The application stands disposed of.
I.A. 15605/2025 (seeking leave to file documents in a CD/ USB Drive)
17. The present application has been filed seeking leave of this Court to CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 2 of 9 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50 file documents in a CD/ USB drive.
18. For the reasons stated, the plaintiffs are permitted to file documents mentioned in paragraph no.2 of the present application in a CD/ USB Drive.
19. The application is disposed of.
CS(COMM) 659/2025
20. Let the plaint be registered as a suit.
21. Issue summons.
22. Summons be issued to the defendants through all permissible modes. The summons shall state that the written statement(s) shall be filed by the defendants within thirty (30) days from the date of the receipt of summons. Along with the written statement(s), the defendants shall also file affidavit(s) of admission/ denial of the documents of the plaintiffs, without which the written statement(s) shall not be taken on record.
23. Liberty is given to the plaintiffs to file replication(s), if any, within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the written statement(s). Along with the replication(s) filed by the plaintiffs, affidavit(s) of admission/ denial of the documents of the defendants be filed by the plaintiffs.
24. The parties shall file all original documents in support of their respective claims along with their respective pleadings. In case the parties are placing reliance on a document, which is not in their power and possession, its detail and source shall be mentioned in the list of reliance, which shall also be filed with the pleadings.
25. If any of the parties wish to seek inspection of any documents, the same shall be sought and given within the timelines.
26. List before the Joint Registrar on 9th September, 2025 for completion of service and pleadings.
CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 3 of 9This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50
27. List before the Court on 12th November, 2025.
I.A. 15600/2025 (u/O-XXXIX Rule 1 & 2 of the CPC)
28. The present suit has been filed seeking relief of permanent injunction restraining the defendant no.1 from infringement of trade marks of the plaintiffs and passing off, along with other ancillary reliefs.
29. The plaintiffs are a part of Verizon Group of companies. Founded in the year 2000, the plaintiffs coined and adopted the mark 'VERIZON', which comes from the Latin word 'Veritas', connoting certainty and reliability, and 'Horizon' which signifies forward-looking and visionary, thereby epitomizing the genesis of the plaintiffs' company name.
30. The plaintiffs are among the world's leading providers of, inter alia, communications, information technology, and security products and services. The plaintiffs own and operate one of the most expansive end-to- end global Internet Protocol (IP) networks serving more than 2,700 cities in over 150 countries worldwide including India.
31. The plaintiffs' communications, information technology, security services are availed by large businesses and government agencies, including 99% of the Fortune 500 companies, across the world including India. In the year 2024, the plaintiffs generated colossal revenue of USD 134 billion approximately. The Indian arm of the plaintiffs' group of companies, i.e., the plaintiff no.3, for the financial year 2021-2022, clocked revenues from operations to the tune of INR 7,866.80 million. Details of the plaintiffs' revenue figures are given in paragraph no.17 of the plaint.
32. The plaintiffs have secured registrations for their VERIZON marks in several classes in over 200 countries including India, with the earliest CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 4 of 9 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50 registrations in India dating back to the year 2000. Details of the plaintiffs' trade mark registrations in India are given in paragraph no.30 of the plaint.
33. The plaintiffs submit that they have been openly, continuously, uninterruptedly using the VERIZON marks since their adoption, and the same has resulted in the VERIZON marks becoming a source identifier of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are also the recipients of several awards and accolades, details of which have been given in paragraph no.20 of the plaint.
34. The plaintiffs have also been recognized by this Court wherein the plaintiffs' mark VERIZON has been declared 'well-known' under the provisions of Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 vide the judgment and decree dated 11th July, 2023 passed in an earlier suit titled Verizon Trademark Services LLC & Ors. v. Vikash Kumar [CS(Comm) 220/2023].
35. It is the plaintiffs' case that they first became aware of the defendant no.1 and its activities in December 2017 when they discovered that the defendant no.1 had registered a company under the name Verizone Ventures Advisors LLP, which wholly incorporated the plaintiffs' well-known and registered trade mark VERIZON. The plaintiffs then conducted investigations through the platform of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the defendant no.2, to ascertain the nature and extent of the business activities carried on by the defendant no.1.
36. It was revealed to the plaintiffs that the defendant no.1 had not been carrying on any genuine business activities since at least 2014. It is submitted that the entity had neither held any Annual General Meetings nor filed any financial statements evidencing ongoing operations since its incorporation.
CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 5 of 9This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50
37. It is also submitted that the defendant no.1's corporate name resembles the names of the plaintiffs' registered subsidiaries in India, namely Verizon India Private Limited, Verizon Data Services Private Limited, and Verizon Communications India Private Limited, and the registration of the defendant no.1's corporate name ought not to have been permitted in the first place.
38. In view of the foregoing, the plaintiffs addressed formal communications to the Registrar of Companies at New Delhi and Mumbai, marking the defendant no.2 as an additional recipient, to prompt regulatory action against the defendant no.1. Copies of the correspondence exchanged between the parties have been filed with the plaint.
39. Counsel for the plaintiffs submits that since the defendant no.1's entity continues to reflect 'ACTIVE' status on the records of the defendant no.2 in June 2025, the plaintiffs initiated an online investigation into the said entity. During the course of this investigation, the following information was gathered:
a. MCA records revealed that the defendant no.1 was incorporated on 16th December, 2014 bearing LLP Identification Number AAD-0616. b. Internet-based searches and public domain checks further revealed that the designated partners of the defendant no.1 are Sweta Narayan Shetty and Nattanmai Venkataraman Saravana.
c. The records of the defendant no.2 also confirmed that the defendant no.1 had not filed any statutory documents, including Financial Statements or Annual Returns, since its incorporation, indicating that the entity had remained non-operational and non-compliant with the CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 6 of 9 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50 provisions of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, since its incorporation.
d. The plaintiffs' investigator also contacted one of the partners of the defendant no.1, Mr. Nattanmai Venkataraman Saravanan, on phone number +91 9619369126, and introduced himself as a potential business associate interested in investment and financial advisory services. During the course of the telephonic conversation, Mr. Saravanan acknowledged that the entity Verizone Venture Advisors LLP is owned by him. He also admitted that the said LLP had been inactive for some time and further stated that they are 'not actively pursuing business' under the said name.
e. It was also observed that despite being legally dormant, the defendant no.1 continued to retain and operate under a corporate name deceptively similar to the plaintiffs' registered and well-known trademark 'VERIZON', thereby causing confusion and diluting the plaintiffs' brand and trade identity in the market.
40. It is submitted that upon nearly a decade of consistent correspondence with the concerned authorities and despite repeated reminders to the defendant no.2 to initiate corrective action against the defendant no.1, the plaintiffs were constrained to issue a formal cease and desist notice dated 7 May, 2025 to the defendant no.1 calling upon it to immediately cease and desist from all forms of use of the impugned marks in any manner whatsoever.
41. In view of the continued non-compliance, and upon receiving no response, the plaintiffs addressed a final reminder dated 2nd June, 2025 to the defendant no.1 reiterating the contents of the earlier cease and desist notice CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 7 of 9 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50 and calling upon them one last time to comply with the demands therein. To date, no response to the aforesaid notice/ reminder letter has been received from the defendant no.1.
42. In view of the above, a prima facie case of infringement is made out on behalf of the plaintiffs in their favour.
43. Balance of convenience is also in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendant no.1. Irreparable loss, harm and injury would be caused to the plaintiffs if the defendant no.1 continues to use 'VERIZONE' as a part of its corporate name.
44. None appears on behalf of the defendants despite advance service.
45. Issue Notice.
46. Notice be issued to the defendants through all permissible modes, including e-mail.
47. Reply(ies) be filed within four (4) weeks.
48. Rejoinder(s) thereto, if any, be filed within two (2) weeks thereafter.
49. Consequently, till the next date of hearing, the defendant no.1, its directors, partners, proprietors, principal officers, servants, agents and distributors and all others acting on its behalf, as the case may be, are restrained from marketing, selling, offering, or making for sale, any goods and/ or services, or in any manner using the marks or trade names ''Verizone', 'Verizone Ventures', 'Verizone Venture Advisors', 'Verizone Venture Advisors LLP', or its variants and/ or any other mark or name consisting of or comprising any trade name/ trade mark similar to the plaintiffs' registered VERIZON marks.
50. The defendant no.1 is further directed to immediately cease all unauthorized use of the plaintiffs' VERIZON marks and take down all CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 8 of 9 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50 infringing materials, online and offline, including but not limited to, listings on various third-party platforms such as ZaubaCorp, India Filings, etc.
51. Compliance under Order XXXIX Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 be done within three (3) days from today.
52. List before the Joint Registrar on 9th September, 2025 for completion of service and pleadings.
53. List before the Court on 12th November, 2025.
AMIT BANSAL, J JULY 7, 2025 Vivek/-
CS(COMM) 659/2025 Page 9 of 9This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/07/2025 at 22:02:50