Delhi High Court Cracks Down on Meesho Over Jockey Trademark Violation
The Delhi High Court has directed Meesho to remove listings of products that infringe Jockey’s trademark, including “JOYKE,” “JOYEBEE,” and “JOYESS,” which are confusingly similar to the registered “JOCKEY” mark. The court asked Meesho to remove the products on its platform within 36 hours.
Meesho, an e-commerce site, was recently ordered by the Delhi High Court to remove listings of knicker items offered under names like "JOYKE", "JOYEBEE", "JOYESS", and "Joejoke". Preliminarily, the court found that they are confusingly similar to the "JOCKEY" trademark that is already in existence. The Delhi High Court further ordered that Meesho provide the identities of the sellers in an interim order that was issued on May 29.
Jockey went to court, claiming that some Meesho vendors were selling innerwear with names confusingly similar to its trademarked one. The court subsequently issued the injunction. The listing(s) that Jockey claims infringed upon were found in January, and after submitting a cease-and-desist notice, further merchants using identical names were detected.
Delhi HC Giving 36 Hours to Meesho
Within 36 hours of being directed by the Delhi HC, Meesho must block the listed listings. Within four weeks, the sellers' Know Your Customer (KYC) information, registration addresses, mobile numbers, UPI data, transaction records, and IP logs must be provided. According to a media source, the Defendants are using the marks in question for products that are confusingly similar to JOCKEY, the Plaintiff's registered trademark.
It is highly probable that there would be confusion due to the similarity of the consumer base and trade routes. The sellers are prohibited from making, promoting, or selling goods that bear the contested trademarks as a result of the ex parte interim injunction that the Delhi HC granted. Diya Viswanath, Shobhit Agrawal, and Saif Khan were the solicitors representing Jockey. The next scheduled hearing is on September 24th.
Meesho Buys Kirana Club for INR 202 Crore
In a June 12 announcement, e-commerce company Meesho Ltd stated that it has acquired Kirana Club Pte. Ltd and Retail Pulse Labs Private Ltd for a total of INR 202.08 crore. The acquisition is aligned with firm's objective to strengthen its foothold in India's thriving digital commerce environment. The acquisition will be paid for in three equal installments and must be finished by March 31, 2027. The Share Purchase Agreement and any necessary regulatory approvals will determine the final terms of the transaction.
The purchase, according to Meesho, furthers the company's goal of making online shopping accessible to all Indians, especially in the country's underdeveloped kirana markets, which are vital to the retail sector. When the deal closes, Kirana Club will join Meesho as a fully owned subsidiary. Meesho will own 99.59% indirectly via Kirana Club and 0.41% directly in e Retail Pulse Labs, which will become a step-down subsidiary.
For kirana stores, Kirana Club runs a community-led B2B commerce platform that lets users find, compare, and buy food and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) straight from manufacturers. More than 4.1 million kirana sellers in India have joined the platform's digital network. Kirana Club, a mobile-first marketplace strategy aimed at underdeveloped retail markets across Bharat, was founded in 2020 by Anshul Gupta and Aishwarya Jain. Approximately 90% of groceries sold in the $650 billion+ market are distributed through kirana and general trade channels, according to the company's platform.
