Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Zee Media From Using “Duniyadari” Label Similar To Lallantop Show

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained Zee Media Corporation Limited from using the “Duniyadari” label for its news programme in a manner that is deceptively similar to the registered device mark of Living Media India Limited, part of the India Today Group.

A single-judge bench of Justice Tejas Karia passed the order on January 9, 2026, while deciding an interim injunction plea filed by Living Media. The Court held that Zee Media's use of the disputed label was likely to cause confusion among viewers.

Living Media operates the digital platform The Lallantop and has been broadcasting a news and current affairs programme titled “Duniyadari” since March 2020. The programme caters to Hindi- and Punjabi-speaking audiences in North India and is broadcast on YouTube and other digital platforms.

The court clarified that Living Media does not enjoy exclusivity over the word “Duniyadari” itself. It observed that the mark “Duniyadari” is not distinctive and that Living Media cannot claim monopoly over the word. However, the Court said Zee Media cannot use the mark in the same manner, for the same service, by adopting deceptively similar elements that are likely to confuse consumers.

Living Media told the court that it holds registered trademark rights over a composite device mark, which includes the word “Duniyadari” along with distinctive visual elements such as a globe, sky, clouds and a specific colour scheme.

The dispute arose after Zee Media Corporation Limited began airing a programme under the identical title “Duniyadari” in Gurmukhi script on its regional channel Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal. According to Living Media, Zee Media used a globe-based background, similar colours and a comparable visual presentation, creating a false impression of association.

Zee Media opposed the plea, arguing that “Duniyadari” is a commonly used word meaning worldliness or worldly affairs and cannot be monopolised. It also contended that Living Media does not hold a standalone registration for the word and that similar terms have been used earlier in films and television content.

After examining the material on record, the Court held that the word “Duniyadari” by itself has not acquired the distinctiveness required to confer exclusive rights. It noted that Living Media's trademark protection arises from its registered composite device mark, and not from the word “Duniyadari” by itself.

At the same time, the court said that when the two marks were looked at as a whole, Zee Media had picked up several features that closely resembled Living Media's mark. These included the globe motif, the colour scheme and the overall visual presentation, which together were likely to mislead viewers.

These similarities were likely to confuse viewers, especially as both programmes operate in the same trade channels and cater to the same class of consumers.

Holding that Zee Media had attempted to come as close as possible to Living Media's mark, the Court restrained Zee Media from using the “Duniyadari” label in a deceptively similar manner.

At the same time, it clarified that Zee Media may use the word “Duniyadari” for its programme, provided the presentation is visually and structurally distinct and does not include elements such as the globe, sky, clouds or similar trade dress that could mislead viewers.