New Delhi, Jan. 6 -- Drawing a telling comparison between baseball and cricket, the Delhi High Court observed that a team celebrated in international baseball leagues cannot automatically claim a win on India's cricket ground unless it has actually played and built a following here. The Court held that trademark disputes in India must be decided on the basis of domestic goodwill, not on global popularity alone.

The observation came as a Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla allowed an appeal restoring the 'BLUE-JAY' trademark registered in favour of Indian apparel manufacturers, which had earlier been cancelled on the plea of Major League Baseball Properties Inc.

Setting aside the Single Judge's order, ...