The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed Royal Challenger Sports Private’s plea. Owner of IPL franchise Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB), attempting to limit Uber India Systems Pvt. Co., Ltd. has allegedly distorted one of the popular RCB slogans by running the bike-Taxi advertising.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee rejected RCB's call for a temporary ban, ruling that advertising is a cricket match that must be observed in the spirit of sports.
The court held that: “The barrier-to-be advertising is in the context of cricket games, a sportsmanship game, and in this court held that the game does not require any kind of intervention at this stage.”
“At this stage, the intervention of the Court will be involved in allowing the plaintiff to ensure that it does not fall on the water. Therefore, this application is dismissed. There is no order on the expense order.”
The lawsuit is filed against Uber’s “Bad Guys of Bangalore” ads, which include Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) player Travis Head, accusing the company of unauthorized use of and RCB’s slogan “EE Sala Cup Namde” and misunderstanding its trademark.
The ad has received over 2 million views since its release on April 5, showing a fictional character spraying the term “Royal Challenger Bangalore” in a stadium logistics room, which RCB claims is a deliberate and ridiculous reference.
Trademark abuse charges
During the hearing, the RCB argued that the franchise had a registered trademark in Royal Challenger Bengaluru, and the slogan “EE Sala Cup Namde” (this year, the Cup is our cup), was widely recognized in its fan base as Kannada said.
It claims advertising is a derogatory and trademark abuse because it has a fictional role (played by the head) – entering the logistics room of the stadium and deliberately distorting the term “Royal Challenger Bangalore” in its official name. While the ad avoids the full team name and instead marks the fixture as “Bangaluru vs Hyderabad”, the RCB's legal team believes the meaning of its brand is clear.
Attorneys earlier filed in court: “This is a targeted attempt to ridicule and dilute the identity of the Royal Challenger.” They claimed that supporters of the team expressed widespread offense, while others used the ad to ridicule RCB Online – expanding reputational hazards.
In response, Uber made a strong claim that the RCB “severely underestimates the sense of humor of the Indian public, including their own fan base.”
Uber targets ads as a relaxed promotion aimed at Uber Moto as a faster alternative to Bangalore’s infamous transportation. The ad was set against the backdrop of the May 13 IPL conflict between the RCB and SRH and audiences were encouraged to consider bicycle taxis to arrive at the stadium in time.
Speaking about the role of Travis Head, Uber's lawyer clarified in court that players introduced themselves in puns (“Hyderabad”” which was not as a slander or negative character. Instead, it metaphorically suggests that Sunrisers Hyderabad will “challenge” RCB in the upcoming competition.
Uber rejected allegations of trademark violations and noted: “The plaintiff's registered trademark is not directly used, such as 'Royal Challenger Bangalore'. The mention of “Bangaluru vs Hyderabad” is universal and does not constitute infringement.”
