WOW MOMO Wins Interim Injunction Against WOW BURGER in Delhi High Court

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The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction in favour of popular food chain WOW MOMO in its trademark infringement suit against WOW BURGER, a Hong Kong-based brand. The court held that the use of the word “WOW” as a prefix by WOW BURGER could mislead consumers into believing that the two brands are connected or affiliated.

The Division Bench, comprising Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla, overturned an earlier order from September 12 that had refused to issue an injunction. The judges ruled that the previous decision had not properly considered the risk of consumer confusion.

WOW MOMO argued that it has built a “family of marks” using the prefix “WOW” across several of its product lines, such as WOW MOMO, WOW DIMSUMS, and WOW CHOW. The company claimed that WOW BURGER’s use of a similar structure unfairly capitalized on its established brand identity.

The court agreed, noting that while “WOW” is a common English exclamation, its combination with food-related words has, through extensive use, become a distinctive identifier of the WOW MOMO brand.

“The likelihood of an average consumer associating ‘WOW BURGER’ with the WOW MOMO brand is high,” the court observed, adding that such use could dilute the brand’s distinctiveness.

The interim injunction prevents WOW BURGER from using the disputed mark until the case is resolved. The judgment highlights an important principle in Indian trademark law is distinctiveness can arise from consistent and creative use, even when a common word forms part of the mark.

The court also emphasized the idea of “idea infringement”, where copying a brand’s conceptual structure, such as the pairing of a common exclamation with a food item, can still amount to trademark violation if it causes consumer confusion.

The ruling strengthens the position of Indian brands in protecting their creative naming conventions and reinforces that consistent use of a prefix or pattern can become a protectable brand identity under Indian law.