RCB Humiliated By High Court; Throws Out Their Plea Against Travis Head-Uber Ad

Published - 06 May 2025, 02:28 PM | Updated - 06 May 2025, 11:34 PM

RCB Uber Travis Head
RCB Uber Travis Head

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered a huge humiliation from the Delhi High Court threw out their plea against a YouTube ad by Uber, featuring Australian cricketer Travis Head.

Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd was sued by Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, which claimed that Uber Moto's YouTube ad "Baddies in Bengaluru ft. Travis Head" defamed its trademark.

According to the court's ruling on Royal Challengers Bengaluru's interim application for relief, the advertisement cannot currently be deemed false and misleading, and the plaintiff is not at risk of suffering any kind of irreversible harm, loss, or injury as a result of the temporary injunction's denial.

RCB claimed Uber’s ad featuring Travis Head insulted Bengaluru and the RCB brand

In a previous description of the video ad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's attorney claimed that the player was seen sprinting towards the Bengaluru cricket stadium to destroy the "Bengaluru vs. Hyderabad" signage.

He then used spray paint to write "Royally Challenged" before Bengaluru changed it to "Royally Challenged Bengaluru," which denigrates RCB's mark.

In addition to arguing that disparaging remarks constitute defamation, the lawyer also pointed out that Uber Moto, the Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL team's commercial sponsor, used RCB's trademark in the course of its business, specifically its "deceptive variant," which was illegal.

Uber's attorney claimed that Royal Challengers Bengaluru had "severely discounted" the general public's sense of humor. Good humor, a sense of fun, and banter are essential components of advertising messaging, according to Uber's lawyer, and they "will be killed" if the RCB-proposed guideline is implemented.

By that point, the commercial had received 1.3 million views on the social networking site, along with several comments from people.

Delhi High Court dismisses Royal Challengers Bengaluru's plea against Uber

The Delhi High Court denied the Indian Premier League cricket team Royal Challengers Bengaluru's appeal on Monday against an Uber Moto YouTube ad that featured Travis Head of Sunrisers Hyderabad, stating that there was no evidence of trademark violation or defamation.

As it declined to issue an interim injunction on the advertisement, the court held that the overall impression produced by viewing the commercial holistically is one of healthy banter and good-natured lighthearted humor.

According to the high court, the advertisement contained "no element of demeaning/criticism/condemning/risuling/defaming/mocking or falsity" intended to damage the RCB cricket team or trademark.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's application was denied by Justice Saurabh Banerjee, who stated that no intervention was necessary at this time.

“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 Royal Challengers Bengaluru trademark/ Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team," the court said in its 35-page order.

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