US-based Uber won a legal battle in India after an Indian court supported the ride-hailing firm's "Royally Challenged" ad campaign, a playful jab at the Indian Premier League cricket team, Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB had accused Uber of trademark infringement and disparagement for the ad featuring a rival team's player altering a "Bengaluru vs. Hyderabad" banner to "Royally Challenged" and displaying RCB's slogan. Delhi High Court Judge Saurabh Banerjee dismissed the allegations, saying that the ad was creative humor within the norms of cricket banter and that trademark infringement and disparagement in such contexts should not be narrowly interpreted.
US-based ride-hailing giant Uber scored a legal win as an Indian court backed the use of wordplay in its "Royally Challenged" ad campaign, which playfully referenced a cricket team, Royal Challengers Bangalore. The spirit of the Indian Premier League, or IPL, played out in the Delhi High Court as Royal Challengers Sports, or RCB, the Bengaluru-based franchise, faced off against Uber India Systems. At the heart of the legal showdown was a cheeky Uber advertisement that playfully tweaked RCB's name, leading to allegations of trademark infringement and brand disparagement.
Playing the role of an umpire, the Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the trademark allegations and said that "the impugned advertisement is at best only a creative depiction of matter(s) of fact which tries to give a taste of humor to the viewers."
The contentious advertisement featured Travis Head, a star player for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, a rival team to RCB. In the ad, Head is seen cruising in an Uber Moto, infiltrating a stadium setting. With a mischievous grin, he spray-paints "Royally Challenged" over a banner that initially read "Bengaluru vs. Hyderabad." The ad also features a poster saying "Ee Sala Cup Namde," which translated from Kannada, means "This year, the cup is ours" — the hopeful battle cry of RCB fans of winning the IPL match this year.
Perceived as a direct hit on their brand identity, RCB claimed that Uber's ad had overstepped the boundaries of acceptable banter, and contended that the "Royally Challenged" tagline was a clear infringement on their trademark and that the overall tone of the ad served to tarnish their hard-earned reputation, striking a nerve beyond the usual competitive spirit of cricket.
Fielding a strong defense, Uber argued that the ad was nothing more than "light-hearted cricket banter, widely accepted by sporting fans and a culturally entrenched part of the game of cricket." It maintained that the ad contained no falsehoods or malicious intent, but rather a play on the inherent rivalries within the game.
Declaring Uber not out, Delhi High Court Judge Saurabh Banerjee defended Uber's word play and dismissed RCB's contention that "the word 'challenged' indicates a 'loser' or 'vanquished'....particularly when the match is yet to be played."
In the 35-page order released Monday, Judge Banerjee said that when it comes to cricket-related ads, the definitions of disparagement or infringement "cannot be given such a restrictive meaning or viewed by a narrow spectacle."
The court ruled that the wordplay fell squarely within the playful norms of sports advertising and did not constitute trademark infringement or disparagement. The humor, the court suggested, did not inflict any real damage to RCB's brand stature.
The court ruling sets a precedent for the permissible use of wordplay and humor in advertising, particularly in the context of sporting rivalries, as long as it avoids malicious intent or genuine trademark infringement, IP lawyers said.
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