INDIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Mohit Goel, Sidhant Goel, Deepankar Mishra and Mehr Bajaj, Sim and San, Attorneys at Law
disputes were often viewed narrowly through the lens of cybersquatting. Today, online identifiers function as instruments of consumer trust, legitimacy and digital identity. Fraudulent domains increasingly facilitate phish- ing, impersonation schemes, counterfeit sales and misleading advertising campaigns. Businesses are therefore no longer merely protecting brand names online; increasingly, they are protecting digital trust infrastructure itself. In Dabur India Limited v Ashok Kumar & Ors . (2025:DHC:11862), the Delhi High Court addressed the growing challenge of anonymous domain registra- tions and repeat infringing websites operating through mirror platforms and constantly rotating identities. The Court also indicated that domain name registrars and related intermediaries cannot remain passive where their infrastructure is repeatedly used to facilitate fraud or infringement. Indian courts are increasingly granting dynamic injunc- tions targeting entire networks of infringing domains rather than isolated websites alone. Courts have also laid down increasing expectations from domain name registrars regarding disclosure obligations, the pres- ervation of registrant data and timely co-operation with enforcement directions where their infrastructure repeatedly facilitates unlawful conduct. Branding in India is becoming more experiential India’s trade mark landscape is also becoming con- ceptually broader. Historically, Indian trade mark protection focused primarily upon conventional word and device marks. Increasingly, however, businesses are seeking protec- tion for how consumers experience brands rather than merely how they visually recognise them. One symbolic example involved the acceptance for advertisement of India’s first smell mark application, concerning rose-scented tyres, filed by Sumitomo Rubber Industries. Whether olfactory marks become commercially common in India remains uncertain, but the significance of the development lies elsewhere. It reflects the reality that modern branding increasingly
operates through sensory and experiential association rather than traditional visual identity alone. Luxury retail, hospitality, gaming and digital service businesses increasingly compete through interface aesthetics, sound identity, packaging presentation and immersive consumer experiences. Personality rights, AI and data governance are beginning to converge Few areas illustrate India’s evolving IP landscape more dramatically than personality rights. What was once largely confined to celebrity endorsement disputes has rapidly expanded into something much broader. Entrepreneurs, influencers, podcasters, wellness creators, spiritual leaders and digital personalities increasingly recognise that their voice, likeness, speaking style and online persona possess independ- ent commercial value. At the same time, generative AI systems are making replication easier, cheaper and more convincing than ever before. Indian courts are increasingly recognising that identity itself may constitute commercially protectable prop- erty within AI-driven economies. Voice replication, synthetic endorsements, manipulated video content and AI-generated impersonation are forcing courts to confront questions that traditional personality rights frameworks were never originally designed to answer. At the same time, larger questions surrounding author- ship and ownership in AI-generated works remain unresolved globally and in India. While India has not recognised AI systems such as DABUS as inventors, the broader debate around AI-generated innovation is likely to shape future policy discussions. Recent governance papers and policy frameworks released by governmental bodies indicate a prefer- ence for techno-legal governance, responsible inno- vation and sector-specific oversight instead of a standalone AI statute. For businesses operating in AI-driven sectors, the immediate focus is therefore likely to remain on ownership of AI-assisted outputs, training datasets, deepfakes, platform liability and enforcement risks as generative AI becomes increas-
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