Supreme Court directs Matrimony.com, Jodi365 towards settlement in trademark dispute
The Supreme Court of India has directed online matchmaking services Matrimony.com and Jodi365 (operated by Free Elective Network Pvt Ltd.) to explore a settlement in their ongoing five-year trademark infringement case. The directive comes as the Supreme Court expressed reluctance to entertain Matrimony.com’s plea challenging a recent Madras High Court ruling.
The Madras High Court had previously restrained Matrimony.com from using the ‘Jodii’ trademark for its matchmaking application. During the Supreme Court hearing, Matrimony.com proposed renaming its app to ‘Jodi Matrimony’ as a potential compromise to avoid business disruption and impact on its user base. A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe has instructed both parties to discuss this settlement proposal, indicating that the court would revisit the matter if an agreement is not reached.
Matrimony.com’s counsel argued that Free Elective’s trademark for ‘Jodi’ primarily covers advertising, telecommunications, and education services, not matrimonial services under Class 45. Furthermore, they contended that ‘Jodi,’ meaning ‘couple’ or ‘pair,’ is a descriptive term and cannot be monopolized. Matrimony.com also indicated it would not pursue its pending application to register ‘Jodi’ as a standalone trademark.
In response, Free Elective’s counsel highlighted their continuous use of ‘Jodi365’ since 2009 and their prompt legal action following Matrimony.com’s launch of ‘Jodii.’
The core of the dispute began in 2021 when Matrimony.com launched its Tamil-focused app ‘Jodii.’ Free Elective subsequently filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction and damages, alleging that ‘Jodii’ was deceptively similar to their ‘Jodi365’ mark and could cause user confusion.
Initially, a single judge bench of the Madras High Court dismissed Jodi365’s lawsuit in July 2022, ruling that ‘Jodi’ was a common descriptive word and that Free Elective held trademarks for the composite mark ‘Jodi365,’ not ‘Jodi’ alone. However, a division bench of the Madras High Court later set aside this order in part, ruling in favor of Jodi365 and granting a permanent injunction against Matrimony.com’s use of the ‘Jodii’ mark.
It is this divisional bench order that Matrimony.com was considering challenging before the Supreme Court.
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