The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to stay a single-judge order restraining actor Ravi Mohan’s production house from using the title ‘BRO CODE’ for its upcoming Tamil movie, following a trademark dispute with Indospirit Beverages Private Limited — the maker of the alcoholic beverage ‘BROCODE’.

A Division Bench of Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla issued notice on the appeal filed by Ravi Mohan Studios, but refused to grant interim relief. The Court reasoned that granting a stay would virtually amount to allowing the appeal and could even dispose of the underlying suit.

“Grant of stay of the impugned order would effectively amount to allowing the appeal and may even amount to disposing of the suit itself. As such, it is not possible for us to grant a stay on the order,” the Bench observed.

During the hearing, the Court orally questioned the legality of the ad-interim injunction passed by the Single Judge, noting that the order did not satisfy the statutory requirements of Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, which defines trademark infringement.

“There has to be something… your case doesn’t fall under any provision under which injunction is given. If it is so, it’s definitely the case for interference. You please tell us under which provision it falls,” the Bench told Indospirit’s counsel, emphasizing that the order lacked prima facie observations on the four conditions under Section 29(4).

Despite these remarks, the Division Bench declined to stay the injunction at this stage. The appeal will be heard in the first week of December, while a contempt plea filed by Indospirit Beverages against Ravi Mohan Studios is listed before the Single Judge on November 25.

Earlier, the Single Bench had granted an ad-interim injunction in favour of Indospirit Beverages, a Delhi-based company founded in 2014 and known for its carbonated wine-in-a-pint product ‘BROCODE’. The company alleged that the production house had used its flagship trademark as a movie title without consent, potentially causing confusion and irreparable harm.

Accordingly, the Single Judge restrained Ravi Mohan Studios, its directors, employees, and agents from using, promoting, or displaying the mark ‘BROCODE’ or any deceptively similar mark in connection with the film, its trailer, teaser, posters, or social media campaigns, while allowing the production of the film to continue as long as the injunction was observed.

Indospirit stated that it has used the ‘BROCODE’ mark since 2015 for its beverage line and for digital content like ‘BroCode Roast’ and ‘BroCode: Onam Ulsavam Song’, which together have garnered millions of online views. The company argued that its mark enjoys wide goodwill beyond beverages and qualifies as a well-known trademark.

In response, Ravi Mohan Studios contended that Indospirit does not hold trademark registration under Class 41 (entertainment services) and relied on an interim order from the Madras High Court protecting it from groundless infringement threats. However, the Single Bench rejected this defence, observing that such protection ceases once a formal infringement suit is filed.

Case Title: Ravi Mohan Studios Private Limited v. Indospirit Beverages Private Limited & Ors.
Case Number: FAO(OS)(COMM) 184/2025