Founder of Shaadi.com and judge on Shark Tank India, Anupam Mittal recently took to social media to talk about the importance of trademark and intellectual property law in the current age of business and cited a recent Bombay High Court ruling that favoured Shaadi.com to prove his point.
“I don’t like to fight. But if I have to, I will,” Mittal wrote in a LinkedIn post, reflecting on the long legal battle to protect the Shaadi.com brand.
The court last week restrained the use of a deceptively similar domain name that Mittal said was designed to mislead users and divert traffic by trading on Shaadi.com’s reputation. “Not imitators. Not competitors. Straight-up lookalikes designed to confuse users and siphon trust,” he wrote referring to the other parties involved in the case.
‘Brands are built on trust, not shortcuts’
Mittal said the ruling was a reminder that brands are not built on logos alone. “They’re built on decades of spend, consistency, customer faith, and restraint,” he said, adding that domain squatters often appear late, copy brand recall and “free-ride” on the trust built by others.
According to Mittal, the High Court recognised Shaadi.com as a well-known trademark under Indian law and awarded Rs 25 lakh in costs along with interest, calling the judgment a strong signal against domain misuse.
“I don’t like to fight, but if I have to, I go all in,” he said, describing the verdict as long overdue for businesses that invest years in building credibility and user confidence.
Criticism of Big Tech practices
Mittal also took aim at large technology companies, accusing them of normalising practices that, in his view, hurt original brand builders. “Globally, Big Tech has monetised brand keywords and disintermediated the very companies that built demand in the first place. They do more evil,” he said.
Calling the ruling a landmark moment, Mittal said the decision goes beyond a single company. “This judgment matters. A lot. It shows Indian courts are finally recognising that intellectual property isn’t a technicality—it’s the economic engine of brand trust,” he wrote.
He described the verdict as a major win not just for Shaadi.com, but for Indian brands and legal professionals who are willing to “play the long game” in protecting intellectual property and promoting Indian businesses and economic growth