A view of Delhi High Court.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Indian Premier League cricket team Royal Challengers Bengaluru moved the Delhi High Court on Thursday (April 17, 2025) over a YouTube advertisement, alleging it disparaged its trademark.
The court, after hearing submissions of parties on Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) interim plea for injunction, reserved its order.
Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited filed a suit against Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd., claiming that Uber Moto’s YouTube advertisement titled “Baddies in Bengaluru ft. Travis Head” disparaged its trademark.
RCB counsel said in the video that the cricketer could be seen running towards Bengaluru cricket stadium to vandalise the signage of ‘Bengaluru Vs Hyderabad’, spray painting the words ‘Royally Challenged’ above the word ‘Bengaluru’ on the board.
The counsel argued that making a negative comment constituted disparagement. He further asserted that Uber Moto, as the commercial sponsor of the Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL team, used RCB’s trademark—specifically a “deceptive variant” of it—while promoting its ride-booking service.
Uber’s counsel argued that RCB had “severely discounted” the public’s sense of humour. He explained that the overall message of the advertisement was simply that a match between RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad was scheduled at the Bengaluru cricket stadium on May 13, and given the city’s notorious traffic, the public was encouraged to use Uber Moto.
Uber’s counsel argued that humour, playfulness, and light-hearted banter are essential elements of advertising, and warned that adopting the standard proposed by RCB would effectively “kill” these creative aspects.
Published – April 17, 2025 10:45 pm IST
