‘Duniyadari’ Dispute: India Today Alleges Zee’s Punjabi News Show Copies Trademark
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday heard a trademark dispute filed by the India Today Group against Zee Media Corporation Limited. The Group claims Zee has used a trademark for its Punjabi news show ‘Duniyadari’ (written in Gurmukhi script – ‘ਦੁਨੀਆਂਦਾਰੀ’) that is deceptively similar to their registered trademark for a digital show on The Lallantop platform.
Justice Tejas Karia, after hearing arguments for nearly an hour, granted Zee time to file its reply and orally suggested that Zee’s counsel consider changes to the show’s logo if they wished to resolve the matter. The court clarified that no final decision had been made yet.
Senior Advocate Asheesh Jain, representing the India Today Group, argued that Zee was unwilling to give up the infringing word ‘Duniyadari’, which had been part of their trademark since 2020 and had built a strong audience, with some episodes crossing 85 lakh views. He said Zee was attempting to capitalise on this reputation, especially among Punjabi-speaking viewers.
Zee’s counsel, Advocate Rahul Vidhani, maintained that all design similarities, including a globe symbol, had been removed and only the word ‘Duniyadari’ remained. He argued that it is a common Hindi expression meaning “worldly matters,” descriptive for news content, and not registered by India Today as a word mark. He added that restricting its use would unfairly prevent others in the news industry from using a generic term.
Justice Karia remarked that a person who can read both Hindi and Gurmukhi may still be confused, as the words are visually and phonetically similar. He orally suggested Zee modify its logo to avoid confusion.
India Today expressed willingness to discuss a settlement but firmly opposed Zee’s continued use of the word for its news show. The Court has directed Zee to file its reply by 22 August and listed the matter for the next hearing on 2 September.
Case Background
India Today Group’s digital platform The Lallantop airs a news show ‘Duniyadari’ on global affairs, with a registered trademark from 2020. They allege Zee’s programme on ZEE Punjab Haryana Himachal uses the same name in Gurmukhi, targeting a similar audience, which may mislead viewers into thinking the two shows are connected.
The Group claims this is a clear case of infringement and passing off, as the marks are visually and phonetically identical, target the same audience, and could harm their goodwill if Zee’s show is mistaken for theirs.
