Champak magazine takes BCCI to court for trademark infringement in naming IPL robot dog

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (April 30, 2025) sought the Board of Control for Cricket in India's response on a plea by renowned children's magazine Champak that alleged trademark infringement over the IPL naming its AI robot dog 'Champak'.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee observed that Champak had been an existing brand name since eternity and asked the BCCI to file its written statement in response to the plea within four weeks. The court listed the matter for further hearing on July 9.

The plea has been filed by Delhi Press Patra Prakashan Pvt Ltd which has been publishing Champak magazine since 1968.

𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻! 𝗪𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗜𝗣𝗟 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 👀

It can walk, run, jump, and bring you a 'heart(y)' smile 🐩❤️

And...A whole new vision 🎥

Meet the newest member of the #TATAIPL Broadcast family 👏 - By @jigsactin

P.S: Can you help us in… pic.twitter.com/jlPS928MwV — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2025

Advocate Amit Gupta, representing the publisher, said naming the robotic dog 'Champak' amounted to infringement of its registered trademark and also commercial exploitation as Champak was a well known mark.

‘Name of a flower’

Senior advocate J. Sai Deepak, who appeared for BCCI, opposed the plea saying Champak was the name of a flower and people associated the robotic dog with a character of a TV series and not the magazine.

During the hearing, the judge orally said cricketer Virat Kohli's nickname is 'Chiku', which is also one of the characters in Champak magazine. Why did the publisher not proceed against him, he asked.

Asked by the court to show how the averment of infringement is made out, the plaintiff's counsel said the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a commercial venture and is advertising, marketing and earning.

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