Delhi HC blocks AGF Finlease from using "PhonePey Loan" over trademark infringement concerns

On December 24, the Delhi High Court issued an injunction barring AGF Finlease India from using the name "PhonePey Loan" for its digital lending services, citing concerns over trademark infringement. The court determined that the name was prima facie deceptively similar to the "PhonePe" trademark, owned by the digital payments platform under Walmart. This decision followed a lawsuit filed by PhonePe, accusing AGF Finlease of violating its intellectual property rights.

Justice Mini Pushkarna, presiding over the preliminary hearing, noted that PhonePe had presented a compelling case for the grant of an interim injunction. “Prima facie (case) has been made out for grant of injunction,” the court ruled, ordering that AGF Finlease be restrained from using the name “PhonePey Loan” or any similar mark that could infringe on PhonePe's brand until the next hearing.

The court also directed GoDaddy, the domain name registrar, to take down the "PhonePey Loan" website and ordered the removal of posts on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, that were found to infringe upon PhonePe's trademark.

During the proceedings, Advocate Sidharth Chopra, representing PhonePe, argued that the name "PhonePey Loan" was likely to confuse consumers and mislead them into believing the service was associated with PhonePe. Chopra further alleged that agents from AGF Finlease had misrepresented themselves as representatives of PhonePe’s loan department.

In response, AGF Finlease’s legal team maintained that the company was using "PhonePey" rather than "PhonePe," a distinction they argued should negate any claims of confusion. However, the court deemed this defense unconvincing and proceeded to grant the injunction.