Reversing a 2023 Single Judge finding that Toyota had not proven Indian use or reputation in the mark ALPHARD predating Tech Square's 2015 'proposed to be used' registration, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has held that unsolicited grey-market imports, online listings and press coverage since 2008 were sufficient to establish trans-border reputation in India.
The Court declared ALPHARD a well-known trade mark and ordered cancellation of Tech Square's Indian registrations, holding that in luxury and niche markets it is brand visibility and global reputation — not mass local penetration through direct sales — that drive consumer recognition and association with the true proprietor.
Foreign brand owners without direct Indian sales now have a clearer, Delhi High Court-endorsed evidentiary path — grey-market presence, online visibility and press coverage — to establish trans-border reputation and defeat squatted registrations of niche or luxury marks in India.