The Bombay High Court has ordered three financial companies to stop using the word ‘Fedex’ in their names. The court ruled that this infringes the trademark of the global courier company Federal Express Corporation, also known as FedEx. Justice R.I. Chagla passed the order on December 11. The judge said, “The Plaintiff has been able to make out a strong prima facie case for grant of interim relief. The balance of convenience is also in favour of the Plaintiff.” The case was filed by Federal Express Corporation against Fedex Securities Pvt Ltd, Fedex Stock Broking Ltd, and Fedex Finance Pvt Ltd. The companies cannot use ‘Fedex’ in any form including company name, trademark, website, or email address until the case is fully decided. They also cannot present their services as those of FedEx. The defendants argued they have used the name since 1996 and that their financial business is different from FedEx's courier operations. They said the name came from “Federal Executives” because their founders worked at Federal Bank. The court rejected this, calling it “an afterthought and implausible.” The judge noted only one director had a link to Federal Bank, and the reason was never mentioned in official documents. The court also dismissed their claim that old trademark law supports their use under Section 159(5) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The order stated, “Section 159(5) has no application to the present suit… Any use by the Defendants after registration of the Plaintiff’s mark in Class 36 amounts to infringement.” FedEx’s trademark is registered in India and was declared a well-known mark in February 2024. Adding the word “Securities” does not make the name different. The judge quoted a Supreme Court ruling, “The word ‘Securities’ is not distinctive at all and the addition thereof does not make any difference.” Senior counsel Dr. Veerendra Tulzapurkar for FedEx said the defendants’ adoption of the name was dishonest and likely to cause confusion. “They are trying to show connection with the Plaintiff and trade upon its reputation,” he said. Advocate Alankar Kirpekar for the defendants said their use was honest, lasting almost 30 years, with no confusion. He claimed the balance of convenience was with them and FedEx had no goodwill in India when they adopted the name.