Uber Moto's YouTube advertisement with SRH member Travis Head doesn't 'affect' RCB, Delhi HC rules
Image credit: YouTube
The Delhi High Court has ruled that an
Uber Moto advertisement
featuring IPL team
Sunrisers Hyderabad
(SRH) member
Travis Head
does not affect the
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
(RCB). After dismissing a plea by
RCB
against the YouTube advertisement, the court reportedly noted that no prima facie case of disparagement or trademark infringement was established. It also said that the advertisement creates a general perception of healthy banter and lighthearted humour, the report claims. While refusing the plea, the high court found that 'no element of demeaning/ criticism/ condemning/ ridiculing/ defaming/ mocking or falsity' aimed at harming the RCB trademark or team. Justice Saurabh Banerjee, who dismissed the application filed by RCB, stated that the matter does not require any intervention at this stage.
Baddies in Bengaluru ft. Travis Head - Uber Moto | Uber
'All throughout the impugned advertisement, there is no (in)direct imputation/ insinuation/ comparison/ exaggeration/ sensationalism/ distortion of matters of fact of any kind by any of the defendants against the RCB trademark/ RCB cricket team,'
the court said in its 35-page order (as seen by the news agency PTI).
Why RCB filed a lawsuit against Uber Moto ad featuring SRH's Travis Head
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
The Cost Of Amusement Park Equipment From Mexico Might Surprise You
Amusement Park Equipment | search ads
Click Here
Undo
Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited sued Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd, alleging that Uber Moto's YouTube ad 'Baddies in Bengaluru ft. Travis Head' disparages its trademark.
In its interim ruling on RCB's request for relief, the court held that at this stage the advertisement cannot be deemed false or misleading and that withholding a temporary injunction would not cause the plaintiff irreparable harm, loss, or injury.
'The impugned advertisement is in the context of a game of cricket, a game of sportsmanship, which, in the opinion of this court, does not call for interference of any sort at this stage, especially while this court is considering the present application...More so, since in a case like the present one, interference by this court, at this stage, would tantamount to allowing the plaintiff to run on water with assurances of their not falling,'
Justice Banerjee said.
The court concluded the ad contains no elements likely to influence or provoke the general public or fans of RCB or SRH.
'There can be no one-sided impression or one-sided version of the impugned advertisement, particularly, since what according to the plaintiff is 'right' can according to the defendants be 'wrong', and vice versa. The act(s) of disparagement cannot be concluded on the basis of the reviews/ comments/ statements made by few viewers/ followers as there are always two sides of a coin. In any event, the same cannot form or be the benchmark for determining the act of disparagement and/ or infringement... This is not a telltale,'
the court noted.
RCB's lawyer argued the ad shows a cricketer spray-painting 'Royally Challenged Bengaluru' over 'Bengaluru vs Hyderabad,' disparaging their trademark and using a 'deceptive variant' during Uber Moto's IPL sponsorship.
Uber's counsel countered that good-natured humour and banter are vital to advertising and that RCB's proposed standard would suppress them. The video had already received over 2 million views and numerous user comments.
AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Karnataka child rights body seeks details of children affected in Bengaluru stampede from CID
The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) has requested the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to provide information about the children who were affected in the stampede that took place during the Indian Premier League (IPL) victory celebrations in Bengaluru last week. In a letter to the director of CID, the chairperson of KSCPCR, K. Nagannagowda, said that a large number of people from Bengaluru and other districts had come to the M. Chinnaswamy stadium to be a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) IPL victory celebrations. The fact that children were also among them has come to the notice of the commission. 'There were 11 people who died in the stampede that occurred unexpectedly. The public has informed the commission that children were also affected in the incident. Therefore, the commission has taken this issue seriously, but the exact details of the problems caused to the children present there are not known yet.' The government has ordered a CID probe into the stampede that took place during RCB's victory celebrations which left 11 people dead, including a 14-year-old girl, on June 4, 2025.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Bengaluru stampede: The concentric circles of guilt in a sports-loving city
For no fault of the players, RCB's first IPL title will always be associated with death and disaster. Rajat Patidar and his boys deserved better, as did the lakhs of fans who turned up that Wednesday morning to share in the triumph. Sport is a life-affirming activity, and to die in its support goes against the natural order of things. Eleven fans died, and no amount of buck-passing will make a difference to their families and loved ones. I have lived in Bengaluru for more years than anywhere else, starting from primary school. But you don't have to be a local to feel the terrible weight of the human disaster. Especially one which with some foresight and common sense could have been avoided. A marketing opportunity for one group, a photo-op for another saw the death of innocence in a sports-loving city. Accountability usually works in a series of concentric circles. Steadily, depending on the public reaction, it moves from the outermost circle which is the least to blame and moves towards the centre. There are, of course varying degrees of guilt, starting from the outermost circle, which was quickly brought into the picture by the Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) when he said the crowds were 'uncontrollable.' This is the politician's first line of defence — the people did it. But this is not an issue likely to disappear, especially since the politicians appeared to be more keen on posing with the players than on dealing with the situation. Does the DCM deserve the benefit of the doubt when he claimed that inside the stadium he did not know about the stampede outside? No official told him? The politicians belong to the innermost circle — is the momentum of the accountability strong enough to get to them? Lack of communication Letters emerging from top police officials warning of the dangers of the lack of preparation for controlling huge crowds suggest that ultimately decisions were taken to which they were not privy. The lack of clear communication between the organisers (there is still some confusion about who these were, the government, the Karnataka State Cricket Association or RCB, or all three at different times and venues) and the public was, in the end, fatal. Crowds respond to rumours; they contain professional trouble-makers, some fuelled by drink. Many seek a shared kinship amidst unemployment and marginalisation. 'It seems that most of India's fans are not so much cricket lovers as cricketer lovers.' There is too the culture of the IPL itself, which encourages over-the-top reactions. Irrational, overplayed and illogical, it is one of sport's techniques to put 'bums on seats', as the boxer Muhammad Ali memorably put it. Or bums on couches before the television. Rivalry, individual as well as among teams, is encouraged. Remember the famous slap in the early years, when Harbhajan Singh, an India player, slapped Sreesanth, another India player? There is no such thing as bad publicity, those officials believed, but now they have overplayed their hand. 'Celebration' and rotten behaviour If cricket fans in India have become indistinguishable from football fans in Europe, the culture of the IPL has something to do with this. 'Celebration' — whether on New Year's Eve or at festivals — seems a free pass to rotten behaviour, physical abuse of women, and perhaps an outlet for many frustrations. Anonymity in a crowd is of the kind that social media guarantees, so is the entitlement. Perhaps the refusal to listen to authority or follow instructions comes from the same mindset. That, of course, ought not to stop authority, from the politicians to the police from doing their job of keeping everybody safe. Would lakhs have turned up to greet the Karnataka team had they won the Ranji Trophy? It seems that most of India's fans are not so much cricket lovers as cricketer lovers. Social media has fed into the interminable hunger for news of personalities, building the players up in the process and putting them out of reach of the everyday. But those questions will have to await another day. For the moment, it is important to sift the essential from the incidental. Senior policemen have been suspended, an RCB official faced arrest, two office-bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association have resigned. But who among the inner circle knowing the possible consequences gave the go-ahead? Check the photographs.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
It is profit first, life and safety second
The tragic deaths in a stampede in Bengaluru on June 4, 2025, of 11 people who were part of a huge crowd that had gathered near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to celebrate the victory of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), after RCB's first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 2025, is a stark reminder of three issues. They are our national sense of disproportionate enthusiasm for victory; of government missionaries' lack of preparedness to contain crowd movement, and of people's sense of immortality. Despite knowing full well that such gatherings end as physically unsafe situations, we see people rush madly, throwing caution to the winds. Social media in particular and 24X7 visual media houses play a great role in adding much hype to these events. It is almost as if missing such an opportunity is akin to foregoing the most important part in one's life. The aim is profits Cricket, especially in India, has become a great money-spinning industry. Hence, those in charge do everything possible to draw in large crowds. The risk that such gatherings pose is known. Every such event results in crowds of people who are far more in number than the capacity of the venues. More footfalls spell more profits for every one in the business. It is common knowledge that the licences and the necessary permissions for hosting such events are not granted by merely adhering to the rules and the regulations on paper. Much of these are linked to the 'showering of bounties' on those in power. Here is an example that happened during this IPL season. In a reported case during an RCB versus Chennai Super Kings match, in early May 2025, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the family of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer fought with the family of an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer over free seating in the VIP gallery. The case resulted in a first information report being filed. While the many uncomfortable galleries are filled up in no time by those who pay for them, the VIP enclosures, which have the best seats and stadium and field views, are generally occupied by those who wield power and enjoy the freebies. An industry which is most lucrative, with millions made in profits, offers paltry sums of money as compensation/solatium for those who lost their life in the stampede in Bengaluru. No amount of money can ever compensate the loss for the families concerned, and it only goes to show the scant respect and value for a common person's life. It is time that whenever there is a gathering for an event that is governed by economic considerations and motives of profit, there is also provision made for a suitable caution deposit. With the said deposit money, the state ought to ensure the security and the safety of spectators or attendees. When a small hall is granted a licence, the mandatory requirements include the number of entrance and exit points, the seating arrangements, a doctor on call, public conveniences, appropriate audio/visual systems and even parking facilities. Therefore, it is shocking that there is scant observance of safety requirements when very large crowds gather in closed/open air stadiums. Compliance with the rules and regulations is very poor in many such instances. Scant safety The concept of public safety in public spaces is practically absent. For example, food fairs are held in an unsafe manner and one finds open wiring running all over the floor. There is no safety when stoves are lit and there is large-scale food preparation that are done under combustible camping structures. There is no sense of fear and safety measures are 'more honoured in the breach, than the observance'. In an incident in Chennai, there were reports of several visitors at an amusement park stranded for hours on a giant wheel after the device experienced technical problems. They had to be rescued by the fire services department. We, as a country, have no value for life. Most of our roads have no pedestrian walkways. There are no tracks marked for slow-moving vehicles. Motor cars and bullock carts traverse along the same roads in a fight for space. There is no respect for the pedestrian, who in turn faces grave danger in the form of speeding automobiles, broken pavements and aggressive stray animals. The 11 dead in a stampede or the thousands of persons who die on our roads are just cold statistics for us. We have learnt to brush aside such tragic incidents by blaming it on karma. There are no lessons learnt. There is no accountability. Some officials are suspended while others are transferred. These are sure to be revoked at a later date. Introduce a culture of audits The need is to have a detailed and scientific study of crowd management by experts and execute their findings in an earnest way. A country with a population that has hit 146.39 crore cannot afford to falter on this issue. Without such an audit, it cannot call itself a civilised and advanced country and a nation that is safe for all its citizens. Every life is precious and there must be a dedication to ensure the safety of all. Let us not lose life and limb by promoting the commerce of and the gains for the rich. Those who are hurt are mortals who fight battles every day for their daily bread. It is unfortunate that this too will pass with no lessons learnt. The rich will keep getting richer at the cost of the struggling masses if we do not act now for a better and safer tomorrow. Sudha Ramalingam is a human rights activist and Advocate in the Madras High Court
