Bombay High Court upholds limits on New Indian Express trademark use

MUMBAI: Looks like the trademark couldn’t cross the border without a legal passport. The Bombay High Court has drawn a firm line around one of Indian media’s most recognisable names, upholding restrictions on where The New Indian Express brand can be used and reinforcing the territorial boundaries established within the Indian Express Group more than three decades ago.

In a significant trademark ruling, a division bench comprising Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande dismissed an appeal by Express Publications (Madurai), affirming an earlier interim order in favour of The Indian Express. The judgment strengthens the original trademark framework governing the use of the “Indian Express” name and its derivatives.

At the heart of the dispute lies a family settlement that dates back to the aftermath of media baron Ramnath Goenka’s death in 1991. Under a Memorandum of Settlement signed in 1995 and supplemented in 2005, ownership of the “Indian Express” trademark remained with The Indian Express, while Express Publications was granted limited rights to publish newspapers under the title The New Indian Express.

Those rights, however, came with a crucial condition: the brand could only be used within specified southern states and select Union Territories.

The latest legal battle was triggered after Express Publications organised an event titled The New Indian Express – Mumbai Dialogues in September 2024, outside the territories covered by the agreement. The Indian Express argued that the move breached the settlement terms and encroached upon its trademark rights.

A single-judge bench agreed in November 2025, restraining Express Publications from using the New Indian Express name for events, programmes or commercial activities beyond the permitted regions. The court observed that the title was a derivative mark whose usage remained subject to contractual limitations.

Now, the division bench has endorsed that view, finding no fault in the earlier ruling. The judges held that the rights granted to Express Publications were both limited and conditional, extending only to newspaper publishing within designated territories and not to wider commercial or promotional activities elsewhere.

The court also noted that unrestricted use of the brand could dilute the goodwill attached to the Indian Express trademark, which continues to be exclusively owned by The Indian Express group.

Beyond the media industry, the ruling serves as a reminder that trademark rights are not always absolute. In cases involving family settlements, legacy businesses and shared brand histories, contractual boundaries can carry as much weight as the trademark itself.

For India’s media landscape, the verdict settles more than a naming dispute. It reinforces a principle that in trademark law, geography can be just as important as identity.