The Delhi High Court recently dismissed Gensol Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.’s (“Gensol”) application for temporary injunction against Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited (“Mahindra”). Gensol sought to prevent Mahindra from using the eZEO or ZEO marks, which Gensol deemed similar to its EZIO mark for electric vehicles.
Gensol claimed to have coined the EZIO mark in 2022 and filed an application to register it in June 2023. It tested its first electric vehicle under the EZIO mark in January 2024. However, before launching its vehicles, Gensol discovered Mahindra’s advertisement for launching a new commercial electric four-wheeler under the EZEO mark in September 2024.
Mahindra argued that eZEO stood for ‘Zero Emission Option’, and that the use of the MAHINDRA house mark clearly differentiated their products. Mahindra also contended that it was a prior user of the eZEO mark, having commenced use since September 2024, whereas Gensol had not launched its vehicle in the market yet. However, in order to address the dispute, it was willing to use the ZEO mark without the letter ‘e’, along with the MAHINDRA house mark.
The court noted that the MAHINDRA ZEO mark was sufficiently distinct from Gensol’s EZIO mark, and that Gensol lacked market goodwill since its vehicles were not yet launched. Moreover, Mahindra publicly disclosed its vehicles under the eZEO mark before Gensol launched its vehicles under the EZIO mark. The court also considered that consumers purchasing these high-end vehicles do not make impulsive decisions, and typically conduct thorough research, and are unlikely to be confused. It also distinguished the target consumers since Gensol is offering an electric passenger vehicle, whereas Mahindra is offering an electric commercial vehicle
The court also determined that, in the automobile industry, cars are identified by the manufacturer’s name. Therefore, it emphasized that the presence of the house mark MAHINDRA would effectively differentiate it from Gensol’s vehicles. Accordingly, based on these findings, the court ruled in favour of Mahindra, and dismissed Gensol’s application for an interim injunction.
Gensol Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. v. Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited, CS(COMM) 849/2024, Judgment dated January 13, 2025
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