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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 30, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – In a relief to TV Today Network Ltd., which operates the Aaj Tak news channel, the Delhi High Court Thursday restrained a Gujarat-based newspaper from using 'Saurashtra Aaj Tak' in its title in any manner. It is undisputed that TV Today Network is the prior user of the mark 'Aaj Tak' and subsequent adoption of the mark 'Saurashtra Aaj Tak' even in the Gujarati language would lead to the confusion of phonetic similarity, the court said.

 

The court said the trial court had erred in not granting a permanent injunction completely in favour of TV Today Network and allowing the newspaper to use the mark 'Saurashtra Aaj Tak' with a disclaimer. The court directed the newspaper to change its name from 'Saurashtra Aaj Tak' to any other name, style, and title that is not similar or deceptively similar to TV Today Network's 'Aaj Tak'.

 

TV Today Network has been using the mark 'Aaj Tak' since at least 2000 while the newspaper has been using the mark 'Saurashtra Aaj Tak' only since 2002, the court said. Thus, clearly, the use of the mark 'Saurashtra Aaj Tak' by the respondent is not from a date prior to the use of the mark 'Aaj Tak' by the appellant, it said.

 

The court said it did not find merit in the newspaper's argument that the use of the prefix 'Saurashtra' is sufficient to dispel any confusion or association in the minds of its readers. Mere addition of a prefix or suffix to a mark is not enough to distinguish the defendant's mark from that of the plaintiff and the same is likely to cause confusion in identifying the source or origin of the product, it said.

 

Pertinently, both parties operate in news dissemination, which would increase the likelihood of confusion and association in the minds of the public, the court said. A viewer who watches an 'Aaj Tak' news bulletin on television and subsequently encounters a newspaper called 'Saurashtra Aaj Tak' is likely to come to the inevitable inference that the two are connected, it said.

 

According to TV Today Network's petition, Aaj Tak was initially launched on Doordarshan in 1995. In 2000, Aaj Tak was introduced as the first 24-hour Hindi news channel and has since acquired substantial public viewership and recognition. In December 2002, the company found out that a newspaper named 'Saurashtra Aaj Tak' had been launched and was published by the respondent from Rajkot. The Gujarati-language newspaper was and is being circulated in the Saurashtra region of the state. Consequently, TV Today Network filed a permanent injunction suit against the newspaper.

 

Thursday, shares of TV Today Network closed at INR 113.68 apiece on the National Stock Exchange, down 2% from Wednesday.  End 

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Shubhayan Bhattacharya

 

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