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BharatMatrimony issues C&D to TamilMatrimony.co.in
Consim Info Pvt. Ltd, which owns BharatMatrimony.com and other umbrella sites like MarathiMatrimony, TamilMatrimony, GujratiMatrimony etc, has issued a cease and desist to Anand Sanwal, who owns and operates the domain TamilMatrimony.co.in.
In a recently filed claim with NIXI, the National Internet Exchange of India (www.nixi.co.in), Consim Info Private Limited has filed a claim against Anand, alleging that his website, www.tamilmatrimony.co.in, is infringing on the use of the term “Tamil matrimony,” which Consim claims as its own.
As per Anand, “the idea that you can allege a generic term like Tamil matrimony which has been around and used long before the internet is synonymous with BharatMatrimony is dubious at best”.
While I’m no expert on trademark and copyright law, I agree with the underdog, Anand in this case. The terms “Tamil Matrimony” are pretty generic enough to warrant a copyright infringement. Unless, they have a trademark issued for the very specific term, alleging a violation wouldnt be justified. Going by the logic above, Shaadi.com folks should issue a trademark violation to SecondShaadi, MusicIndiaOnline should act against CATIndiaOnline and so on.
My gut feeling is that NIXI will most likely rule in Consims’s favor, which might not come as a surprise to many of us.
What do you think ? Is Consim justified in their act or are they simply being the big bully here ?
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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14 Responses to “BharatMatrimony issues C&D to TamilMatrimony.co.in”
Pranav,
Thanks for the post and glad to hear you agree with our stance on this case being a bit frivolous especially when there are other sites like tamilmatrimony.net, tamilmatrimony.co.uk and tamilmatrimony.lk in the market.
We’ll see how things turn out, but I look forward to seeing what your other readers have to say.
With reference to your comment that you think Nixi will decide in Consim’s favor. Was that a hunch or based on prior experience/cases you’ve seen them decide? So far, I must say they’ve been quite professional in dealing with the case. I, of course, hope you’re wrong on that count
Thanks again for bringing some attention to this case on your blog. For your readers who maybe interested, we’re keeping folks informed about developments/progress at http;//www.stopdomainnamebullying.com.
BTW, on an unrelated note, I’d read about the IITB business plan competition on your blog. Do you know if there is a way to see the submissions to the competition? I’m interested in seeing the type of plans being submitted. I’d been a judge a couple of years ago for the first Economic Times-Wharton School Biz Plan Competition, and it would be good to see some of the newer ideas that are emerging.
Warm regards,
Anand
info@stopdomainnamebullying.com
Regards,
Anand
I am surprised, Pranav, that a sensible site like yours is supporting anand. clearly anand thought of the name because bharat matrimony, gujaratimatrimony and others were well known and are doing well. he just wants to piggyback on their success. do you think ythat first-time visitors visiting tamilmatrimony will not in the back of their minds be thinking that they are visiting a site linked to bharat matrimony? i think you are being too naive if you think that all visitors are well informed.
i think people are really abusing the term big bully. just because consim is an older player who is now successful if it resorts to safeguards its interest, does it become a big bully?
At first I thought the site tamilmatrimony.co.in is trying to ride on the brand of tamilmatrimony.com due to similarity in the name and I thought Consim was right in going to NIXI. But one look at tamilmatrimony.co.in and you will see that they are not competing with tamilmatrimony.com at all. It looks like a blog advising people about the online matrimony portals (especially for tamil speakers) and they carry a link back to Bharatmatrimony as well as other tamil focused matrimony sites. So looking at this I don’t think Anand is infringing on Consim’s trademark.
if Anand registered tamilmatrimony.co.in after bharat matrimony started tamilmatrimony.com… its sounds like an infringment as .. obviously Anand is trying to cash on a name that may already ring a bell with the users. if he did it before tamilmatrimony.com… then this is not an infringment .. actuallly Anand can reverse sue the party….
I would support Anand in this case as he is writing an Independent blog which has no relationship with the TamilMatirmony.
I would advice Anand to put a big disclaimer at his blog stating that he has no relation ship with tamilmatrimony.com and also give a link to them.
Any idea on who is hosting the .net sites of the series *matrimony.net. That runs without a TM on it.
All - Thanks for your comments.
The site was booked over 2.5 years ago.
The term tamil matrimony is inherently generic and so no company owns the “term”. By some of the arguments above, tamilmatrimony.net, tamilmatrimony.co.uk, tamilmatrimony.lk and even 1rupeetamilmatrimony.com are all infringing on Consim and so Consim should go after them as well. Plus Shaadi.com and JeevanSathi.com use the term in their adwords ads so they’d also be infringing on Consim if this is a legitimate trademark. The idea that the term Tamil matrimony has achieved a secondary meaning that ties them to Consim’s site is simply not true.
If I was looking to make money on the site, I would have parked it full of Google ads as well which I haven’t. As Ranjith and Yash have stated, the site is actually a blog and contains 180+ articles on dating & relationships. I also link to BharatMatrimony and the other Tamil matrimony and other matrimonial sites. So we’ve never viewed BharatMatrimony as a competitor but actually someone who could be complementary to them.
Snigdha - I don’t think you are giving users enough credit. Folks who type tamilmatrimony.co.in into their url are looking for a site related to matrimonial services - they are not necessarily looking for Consim’s site. Just google the term “tamil matrimony” and you will see 600,000 links mentioning the term. If people immediately thought of Consim, why wouldn’t they just goto TamilMatrimony.com directly? Because, nobody owns the term, and it has not achieved a secondary meaning. Trademarking generic terms ultimately is anti-competitive. Folks tried to do this with the term Basmati rice some years ago and the trademark experts agreed.
I look forward to hearing what others have to say.
Regards,
Anand
Anand,
I said that “Nixi will decide in Consim’s favor” because I was about 95% sure that Consim has Trademarked the “Tamil Matrimony” phrase.
Now, whether thats doable and / or legal is a completely separate matter, something that who’s more legally qualified can comment on.
about the IITB b-plans, I dont think they’re putting the submissions for public viewing. You might want to get in touch with the organizers if they can give you access somehow.
-p
I’m just very,very surprised that Consim never bothered to buy all these other domains - something that would have been very obvious to other Internet companies of their size.
Negligence or Ignorance ?
Anand,
Looks like BharatMatrimony has trademark on Tamil Matrimony in India hence they have better chance of getting the domain thru NIXI .
In addition, they acquired TamilMatrimony.in in 2007.
To your defense since you are not monitizing the domain, you may not be penalized.
Again, It would depend on Arbitrator and how Consim lawyer frames the case.
Check out the dispute resolution case @ http://inregistry.in/policies/dispute_resolution/dispute_decisions/
Ravi,
Thanks for your comments and the link. There are actually 3 elements that Consim has to prove for them to win the case per NIXI guidelines so we, of course, remain optimistic.
We’ll keep you posted as things unfold.
Thanks again,
Anand
http://www.stopdomainnamebullying.com
I’m just curious — did they ever offer to acquire your domain ?
Pranav - No they didn’t. The complaint via NIXI was our first-ever communication from Consim / BharatMatrimony.
i hope those morons will attempt to distinguish what is generic terms and tm words
Here is the link to dispute resolution.
The domain was awarded to Consim / BharatMatrimony.
http://inregistry.in/policies/dispute_resolution/dispute_decisions/tamilmatrimonycoin.pdf