Don’t open any more institutes using Princeton’s name, Delhi HC tells Hyderabad-based education society 

The society had justified that it established many colleges and societies with the name “as an ode to the Prince of Hyderabad and his farsightedness”. The society said it “wanted to educate and groom thousands (denoted by the word ton) of Princes and Princesses (denoted by the word Prince) thereby, naming their Colleges- Princeton.” However, the New Jersey-based university had highlighted that the education society, without due cause and without the authorisation of the US varsity, “are unfairly trading upon the reputation and goodwill” of the Ivy League university’s intellectual properties, and that such misuse will not only likely to dilute its distinctive character but also amounts to unfair competition”.

In 2022, Princeton University had approached the Delhi High Court in the matter. A single judge in September 2023 had refused to injunct the use of the name, noting that it would be “facile, and plainly unrealistic, to believe that any consumer would confuse the services provided by the defendants with those provided” by Princeton University.

A division bench has now, however, held that Princeton University has an established goodwill in the Indian market borne by the very fact that “Indian students are also being targeted by the appellant and are in fact going to the University of the appellant in large numbers”.

In an order on September 26 by Justices Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar, the court noted that Princeton University has shown prima facie evidence of establishing its reputation in India since 1911, in contravention to the single judge’s observation that “infraction of the rights of (Princeton University) can take place in various shapes like dilution of its mark, initial interest confusion, and actual confusion.”

However, instead of granting ad-interim injunction against the Hyderabad-based educational society’s institutions, the division bench directed Vagdevi Educational Society that it “would not open any new institution using the name ‘Princeton’ as part of the name of such institution,” during the pendency of the suit.

It also directed the society’s institutions to also maintain complete accounts of all its receipts, and file the same along with an affidavit every six months.