Bengaluru court halts Kinetic Green's "Zulu" e-Scooter in trademark spat with Yulu

A Bengaluru commercial court upheld a temporary injunction against Kinetic Green Energy, restricting them from using, selling, or advertising under the "YULU" trademark or any confusingly similar variations such as "ZULU" and "Kinetic Green Zulu."

The development comes days after a High Court of Karnataka in part ordered a temporary injunction on February 5 on similar lines while asking the commercial court to expedite the hearing.

The legal battle began in late January when Yulu filed a case with a city civil and sessions court, accusing Kinetic Green of infringing on its trademark with the launch of their "Zulu" branded e-scooters in mid-December 2023, the deliveries for which were expected to start in the beginning of 2024.

While the lower court denied the initial injunction request of Yulu Bikes, it allowed Kinetic Green to present their arguments. Unsatisfied with the development, Yulu Bikes went into appeal against the order in the High Court of Karnataka.

The lawyers representing Kinetic Green Energy in their defence stated that the adoption of mark ZULU / Kinetic Green-ZULU and the advertising strategy and campaign behind the launch of the electric scooters under this mark revolves around Sulajja Firodia Motwani, the founder and CEO of Kinetic Green and the tagline “Sulu Ki ZULU” as the term ZULU rhymes with the nick name of Sulajja.  Moreover, all its earlier products have only ‘FOUR’ letters. The mark was registered before it was used for their launch, they continued.

With the injunction upheld against Kinetic Green Energy, the legal battle continues as the commercial court proceeds with the hearing. Both parties are likely to present further arguments and evidence to support their respective claims.