Social media outlets told to take down fake NSE accounts

The order came on a petition moved by NSE alleging trademark infringement and passing off against a person identified as John Doe. It also named X Corp and Google LLC as well as administrators of WebsiteBeing, Namecheap and GoDaddy as respondents.

Passing off in intellectual property rights law refers to a false representation that is likely to induce a person to believe that goods or services are those of another.

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crackdown on false representation

“Considering the fact that an unsuspecting investor can be drawn into investing substantial amounts based on the contents of the infringing accounts purportedly giving guidance pertaining to the stock market and using the plaintiff’s (NSE) registered trademark, the use of such infringing activity is liable to be restrained in the larger public interest,” Justice Sharmila Deshmukh said in her 21-page order.
In its April 10 order, the court granted ad interim relief to NSE in the trademark suit and directed intermediaries, including X and Google LLC, which owns YouTube, to remove infringing content in line with the IT Rules.

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Senior counsel Birendra Saraf, along with Parinam Law Associates, appeared for NSE and argued that defendants X Corp and Google-owned YouTube are intermediaries on whose platforms unknown persons have infringed NSE’s registered trademark by creating and operating fake social media accounts.
The counsel said the fake videos misrepresent to the public that the accounts and their content originate from NSE. NSE also argued that the administrators of WebsiteBeing operate the website www.nsetrend.com, which infringes its registered trademark by using the mark in the URL and replicating the exchange’s distinct colour scheme to suggest an association.

Appearing for Google LLC, Charu Shukla argued that while the plaintiff has identified certain YouTube channels, not all content on these channels relates to the stock market, with some being music channels, despite using NSE’s trademark.

“These channels have been in existence for a long time and have thousands of subscribers, and before any order can be passed, it would be appropriate if notice is issued to the YouTubers so that they can respond to the same,” argued the counsel for Google.