Delhi HC restrains Bihar real estate firm from using ‘Nintendo’ in company name
The Delhi High Court has restrained a Bihar-based real estate company from using the name “Nintendo”, holding that it infringes the trademark rights of Japanese
The Delhi High Court has restrained a Bihar-based real estate company from using the name “Nintendo”, holding that it infringes the trademark rights of Japanese gaming giant Nintendo Co. Ltd.. Justice Jyoti Singh passed an interim order in favour of Nintendo Co. Ltd. on July 29 after finding that it is likely to mislead the public into believing that the real estate company is associated with the global video game maker. Nintendo Co. Ltd., in its suit, stated that it was founded in Japan in 1889 and now a globally recognised developer and publisher of video games and gaming consoles, with registered trademark rights over the coined mark ‘NINTENDO’.
The company argued that the mark enjoys extensive reputation worldwide and in India through products such as the Nintendo Switch, Game Boy, Super Mario Bros., Pokémon and Donkey Kong franchises. Nintendo submitted that it discovered in November 2025 that a company registered in Patna had incorporated itself as ‘Nintendo India Private Limited’. Its investigations revealed that the company was engaged in business of acquiring, managing and dealing in land and other immovable properties. Despite a cease-and-desist notice issued in February 2026, the dispute remained unresolved, prompting the Nintendo to approach the High Court.
The Court observed that Nintendo had used the mark since 1889 and had acquired considerable reputation and goodwill internationally as well as in India. It held that the defendants’ company name was “nearly identical/deceptively similar” to the Nintendo and was likely to cause confusion among members of the public and the trade. “Looking at the formidable reputation and goodwill of the Plaintiff (Nintendo) spanning over decades, it is prima facie evident that the adoption of the impugned name is with an objective of encashing on the goodwill and reputation of the Plaintiff so as to misrepresent to the public that Defendants No. 1-3 have some connection/affiliation/nexus with the Plaintiff and this is resulting in irreparable harm and injury to the Plaintiff,” the court said.
The Court restrained the defendants and all persons acting on their behalf from using ‘Nintendo India Private Limited’ or the mark ‘NINTENDO’ in any manner until further orders.
The BriefWire