India Today drags Zee Media to court over Punjabi show ‘Duniyadari’

New Delhi: India Today Group has locked horns with Zee Media in court in a trademark dispute for ZMCL’s new show Duniyadari (written in Gurumukhi script in the creative), which the Aroon Purie-founded group claims is deceptively similar to the show that  runs on its digital vertical ‘The Lallantop.’ 

The Delhi High Court has orally observed that the title and logo of Zee Media’s Punjabi-language show Duniyadari could cause confusion with India Today Group’s long-running Lallantop segment of the same name, noting that viewers conversant in both Hindi and Gurmukhi may not distinguish between the two.

The lawsuit was filed by Living Media India Limited, the parent company of the group. Hearing the trademark infringement plea, Justice Tejas Karia remarked that the marks were “prima facie deceptively similar” and urged Zee’s counsel to seek instructions from the network on potentially changing the logo to avoid prolonged litigation.

The plea stems from the claim made by India Today that Duniyadari, a current affairs show running on The Lallantop digital platform since 2020, has become a distinctive property, attracting substantial goodwill and viewership, with some episodes crossing 8.5 million views. 

The company holds a registered label mark for the show and argues that Zee’s use of the identical title in Gurmukhi script for its ZEE Punjab Haryana Himachal channel amounts to passing off and diluting the brand identity.

Zee Media, however, has countered that “Duniyadari” is a common Hindi term meaning “worldly matters” and cannot be monopolised. Its counsel pointed out that the plaintiff’s trademark registration does not cover the word mark, only the stylised label. 

The broadcaster also said it had already dropped the globe motif from its visuals, retaining only the title in Punjabi script, and argued that prior works, such as a 2013 film titled Duniyadari, demonstrate the term’s generic nature.

During the proceedings, the court noted that linguistic overlap in the target audience could create an association in the minds of viewers between the two shows. “A person who can read both scripts may be misled into thinking the programmes are related,” Justice Karia observed.

The bench indicated that altering the impugned logo could be a practical way to exit the suit, avoiding the need for a contested ruling. The court has directed Zee Media to file its reply by August 22, with the matter listed for further hearing on September 2.