Delhi HC Grants Interim Injunction to Gameskraft Against Trademark and Copyright Infringement by Rogue Websites [Read Order]

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has issued a comprehensive interim injunction order protecting Gameskraft Technologies Private Limited and its affiliate from trademark infringement and copyright violations by multiple rogue websites and unauthorized mobile applications.

Justice Amit Bansal delivered the order, addressing the widespread misuse of Gameskraft’s popular gaming platform trademarks, including “Rummyculture,” “Playship Rummy,” “Pocket52,” “RummyPrime,” “Ludo Culture,” and “RummyTime.”

The court addressed a commercial suit filed by Gameskraft Technologies Private Limited and its affiliate against 36 defendants, including unknown website operators, domain registrars, hosting providers, and government agencies.

Gameskraft, described as one of India’s first gaming companies to build an ISO 9001:2015 certified platform, has been operating since 2017 and reported an annual turnover of approximately ₹3,466 crores in FY 2023–24. The court noted, “Plaintiff No. 1 and its affiliates have catered to a growing group of skill-based players within the online gaming community, and, resultantly, the companies within the group are now among the country’s most recognised online skill-based gaming companies.”

Addressing the defendants’ fraudulent activities, the court observed, “Defendants No. 1 to 16 are misleading unsuspecting users on a daily basis into downloading various unknown apps through suspicious links on their websites, and are entrapping users wanting to use the plaintiffs’ products into downloading dubious apps which have no connection whatsoever with the plaintiffs.”

The court highlighted the scope of trademark infringement, stating, “The usage of the aforementioned websites and infringing apps is not reflected on the plaintiffs’ systems, and any money used in these apps is not deposited with the plaintiffs. Thus, the said apps pose a major financial risk to the public at large.”

In its comprehensive interim order, the court directed, “Defendants No. 1 to 16 are restrained from using the plaintiffs’ marks ‘PLAYSHIP,’ ‘PLEGO,’ ‘LUDO SELECT,’ ‘POCKET52,’ ‘RUMMY,’ ‘RUMMY CULTURE,’ ‘GAMESKRAFT,’ ‘CULTURE OF CHAMPIONS,’ and marks that incorporate one or more of the plaintiffs’ marks.”

The court emphasized the protection of copyrighted content, instructing that the defendants are “restrained from infringing on copyright vested with the plaintiffs in the unique content (textual, visual, pictorial, and video) of their websites located at www.rummyculture.com, www.gamezy.com, www.playship.com, www.rummyprime.com, and www.pocket52.com.”

The court further directed domain registrars and hosting providers to “lock and suspend access to the domain names ‘playshiprummy.net,’ ‘playshiprummy.icu,’ ‘gamezy82.com,’ ‘gamezy.space,’ ‘happymod.com,’ ‘mi9.com,’ ‘gamespot.com,’ ‘sbjhub.com,’ ‘playgoogle.ludoculturepro.com,’ ‘apkpure.net,’ ‘playmods.net,’ and any other domain names discovered during the proceedings to have been engaging in or carrying out fraudulent activities.”

The court also ordered the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to issue appropriate notifications to Internet Service Providers and Mobile Network Operators to block the infringing websites.

In a significant provision for future protection, the court granted liberty to the plaintiffs to implead additional rogue websites discovered later, allowing the Joint Registrar to extend the injunction order to such newly discovered infringing websites.

The matter is scheduled for further hearing on September 26, 2025, with completion of pleadings listed before the Joint Registrar on July 31, 2025.

Mr. Sandeep Sethi, Senior Advocate, along with Mr. Arun Srikumar, Mr. Abhyudaya Shishodia, and Mr. Ritwik Gupta, Advocates, appeared for the plaintiffs, while Mr. Gaurav Barathi, Advocate, represented the government defendants.

Case Title: Gameskraft Technologies Private Limited & Anr. vs. John Doe & Ors.

[Read Order]