Delhi HC asks Google to suspend misleading links for Starbucks franchise

The Delhi High Court has asked Google LLC to "immediately suspend" within a week URLs of google forms offering invitations to public for Starbucks franchise.

The US coffee chain Starbucks Corporation and Tata Starbucks, a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Consumer Product and Starbucks Corp, had alleged that certain imposters were seeking information from the general public to apply for Starbucks franchise opportunities, which does not exist in India.

It had earlier sought a decree of permanent injunction for infringement of its ‘STARBUCKS’ mark and copyright in its logos among other reliefs. Starbucks Corp and Tata Starbucks which own and operate Starbucks stores across India does not follow a franchise model.


Starbucks said certain unknown entities were holding themselves out to be its franchisees without any authorisation. Such fraud franchisees, which operate under the domain names starbucks-franchise.com, www.starbucksfranchise.in, and starbucksfranchise.co.in, have come to its notice, it said.

Justice Anish Dayal while passing the order said that Starbucks would be entitled to the relief sought “on account of not only that these google forms are being posted by imposters in order to elicit information relating to Starbucks franchise (which do not exist in India) as well as seeking private information and data from the general public, which cannot be countenanced.”

If Google has a reservation to any particular URL, they will be at liberty to respond to Starbucks in that regard and who can approach the high court for further adjudication and relief, the HC said in its order.

Further, Google was also directed by the HC to provide Starbucks user details of the registrants of these google forms within two weeks from the passing of the order. The information provided by Google will be subject to its own internal policy and regulation, the order added.

Google had told the HC that it had no issue with relief sought, as long as the URLs listed by Starbucks related to the issue raised in the suit.

Starbucks had in April moved the HC seeking a restraint against its fake franchisees, which has resulted in illegal collection of public money. The HC had then ordered that domain names of such fake franchisees be blocked with immediate effect till it heard the case.