Remfry Secures Win For AUDI A6

The Audi Q6 is a flagship SUV from German automaker Audi AG’s stable and an application to register the Q6 trademark (in classes 9 and 12) was filed in India in October 2020. This was refused by the senior examiner of trademarks on September 2, 2021, citing non-distinctiveness (under Section 9(1)(a) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999) and the likelihood of creating confusion among the public (under Section 11(1) of the said Act).

On behalf of Audi AG, Remfry & Sagar filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court arguing that the impugned order referred to Sections 9 and 11 of statute but did not list reasons linking the facts of the cases with these provisions. Further, ample material had been placed on record to justify registration of the Q6 mark which the examiner had failed to deal with before rejecting the trademark application. It was highlighted that the Q6 trademark had already been registered in several jurisdictions, including Australia, Chile, the European Union, Germany, Norway, Singapore, Turkey, Ukraine, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom and that Audi AG enjoys proprietary rights over several ‘Q’ formative marks in India such as Q3, Q5 and Q7.

The high court set aside the rejection order on January 02, 2025 and directed the senior examiner to re-evaluate the application, including the detailed evidence presented by Audi AG, and issue a decision within 2 weeks.