TRADEMARK
MEDIATION FAILS IN TESLA TRADEMARK DISPUTE
In 2024, Tesla, Inc. (Plaintiff) filed a lawsuit in the Delhi HC
against Tesla Power India Pvt. Ltd. & Others (Defendants), a
company based in Gurugram, alleging trademark infringement, passing
off, and unfair trade competition. The Plaintiff contends that the
Defendants' use of its registered mark "TESLA,"
coupled with the descriptive phrases "TESLA POWER/TESLA POWER
USA," constitutes an infringement and misleads consumers into
erroneously associating the Defendants' products with that of
the Plaintiff's.
On 22nd December 2021, Defendants published an article
announcing their intent to enter the Plaintiff's electric
vehicle (EV) market. This announcement, however, was later
retracted. The Defendants clarified that its primary business,
supplying lead-acid batteries for automotive, inverters, and UPS
applications, and asserted that the use of the impugned mark in
advertisements was due to a marketing agreement
