The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said coaching centre FIITJEE appears to be profiting off the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi as a metro station near the institution has been named after it, PTI reported. The coaching institute is the sponsor of the station, which is called “FIITJEE IIT”.
It, however, dismissed the appeals by FIITJEE and IIT Delhi against a single judge’s July 10 order asking the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to put up disclaimer notices at the metro station and other places and make it clear that the two institutions are not connected.
“There is a disclaimer. Everyone knows what FIIT-JEE stands for,” the court said. “A reasonable order has been passed. If you feel the name is being misused, file a suit for patent or trademark. We are not going to interfere.”
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has been allocating naming rights of stations to sponsors since 2014 to earn revenue. IIT Delhi had approached the High Court in May claiming that the branding on the metro station near its campus was an “attempt to gain publicity” at its expense. The co-branding gave an impression that the two institutions have partnered together, the engineering college claimed.
FIIT-JEE challenged the court’s order, saying that the disclaimer be modified to reflect that the two institutions have no business relations. It was not correct to say that the two are not connected, it added. The coaching centre argued that the institutes have been in existence for over 40 years and people are not confused about their roles.
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