Courtesy: Google/Uber Moto
Delhi High Court dismissed the plea filed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against a video advertisement created and posted on YouTube by Uber Moto, which was named “Baddies in Bengaluru ft. Travis Head”. The point of contention was RCB alleging that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) cricketer Travis Head was mocking their team name and image in the video, which shouldn’t be allowed under trademark law according to their lawyer, but the court didn’t agree with it.
Notably, the video advertisement from Uber Moto had Travis Head running towards a stadium in the city of Benglauru before spray-painting “Royally Challenged Bengaluru” over the word “Bengaluru” on a sign which read “Bengaluru vs Hyderabad”. After the video went viral on the social media platform X, RCB ended up filing a case against “Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd”, and as per the report published in OneCricket, they claimed that ad was insulting and harmed the reputation of the franchise.
Delhi High Court Justice dismissed RCB's plea by saying Travis Head's video was cricket-related fun
As per the lawyer of RCB, the case was about the misuse of trademark and showing disrespect towards their team, while claiming that SRH sponder Uber Moto used the name of the franchise negatively for promoting business. Although, in his judgement, the Delhi High Court’s Justice Saurabh Banerjee wasn’t in agreement with their points, stating that that video advertisement was cricket-related fun, which is why there is no legal action needed on it.
He also went on to state that the sport is all about playful banter, so the decision to stop such video won’t be in the best interest of the game itself, dismissing the plea of RCB, while the detailed court order will be out soon. At the same time, it is important to note that the lawyers of Uber were defending the video advertisement by pointing out that it should be taken in a sporting way.
