Bombay High Court Temporarily Restrains Kataria Insurance Brokers From Using 'KATARIA' Trademark

The Bombay High Court has temporarily restrained Ahmedabad-based Kataria Insurance Brokers Private Limited from using the name “KATARIA INSURANCE” or any other name, mark or website containing the word “KATARIA” for insurance-related services. The court held that such use is deceptively similar to the registered trademark of Mumbai-based Kataria Jewellery Insurance Consultancy.

Justice Arif S Doctor, while granting interim relief on December 8, 2025, held that the consultancy had made out a clear case of trademark infringement. The court said that “the Plaintiff has well established all the requisite ingredients to establish infringement under Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act,” noting that both parties operate in the same line of insurance services and use nearly identical names.

In its order, the court observed that the word “KATARIA” had, over the years, come to identify a single source in the insurance sector.

“In the present case, the Plaintiff's mark “KATARIA” has, through long, continuous, and extensive use in the insurance sector, come to denote a single and identifiable source. Thus, the Defendant's adoption is therefore prima facie dishonest and not bona fide,” the court said.

It added that the rival company's adoption of the name was “prima facie dishonest and not bona fide.”

The court also took note of the fact that Kataria Insurance Brokers had adopted the name without conducting even a basic trademark search, describing this conduct as prima facie negligent.

Kataria Jewellery Insurance Consultancy told the court that it has been providing insurance services since 1999 and has used the name “KATARIA INSURANCE CONSULTANCY” since 2004.

In 2006, it began specialising in insurance for the jewellery sector and adopted the name “KATARIA JEWELLERY INSURANCE CONSULTANCY.” The firm holds registered trademarks for the word mark “KATARIA” for insurance and financial services, with user claims dating back to 2006.

The consultancy further stated that it became aware of Kataria Insurance Brokers Private Limited in 2014 and objected to its name before the Registrar of Companies. Although the Registrar had asked the rival company to change its name, no change was made. The consultancy then issued cease-and-desist notices in 2014 and again in 2019. It later discovered that the rival company was offering identical insurance services through the website “katariainsurance.co.in.”

Rejecting the argument that “Kataria” was a family name, the court held that such an argument cannot be accepted in the case of incorporated companies, which deliberately choose their corporate identities. It also dismissed the argument that alleged use of the name by other group companies justified the defendant's conduct, pointing out that those entities were separate legal persons operating in unrelated businesses such as automobiles, not insurance.

Holding that Kataria Jewellery Insurance Consultancy had established a strong prima facie case, that the balance of convenience was in its favour and that continued use of the disputed name would cause irreparable harm to its goodwill, the Court granted interim protection.

Accordingly, the court restrained Kataria Insurance Brokers Private Limited and anyone acting on its behalf from using “KATARIA INSURANCE” or any other mark, corporate name or domain name identical or deceptively similar to the registered “KATARIA” trademarks for insurance services, until the final disposal of the suit.

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