Due to claimed trademark disparagement, RCB petitions the Delhi High Court to block the Uber advertisement.

On Thursday, April 17, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) filed a complaint in the Delhi High Court, claiming that a YouTube ad denigrated their trademark.

After hearing the parties’ arguments about Royal Challengers Bengaluru temporary request for an injunction, the court chose to postpone making a decision. Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd. was sued by Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, which claimed that Uber Moto’s YouTube ad “Baddies in Bengaluru ft. Travis Head” defamed its trademark.

In the advertisement, Royal Challengers Bengaluru lawyers claimed that the player was observed sprinting towards the Bengaluru cricket stadium in order to deface the “Bengaluru vs. Hyderabad” signage, spray painting the words “Royally Challenged” above the word “Bengaluru.”

Making a disparaging remark, according to the attorney, was considered disparagement. He added that Uber Moto, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)’s commercial sponsor, exploited RCB’s trademark—more precisely, a “deceptive variant” of it—to advertise its ride-booking service.

RCB had “severely discounted” the public’s sense of humour, according to Uber’s attorney. He clarified that the advertisement’s main takeaway was that the public was encouraged to utilise Uber Moto because of the notorious traffic in the city and that a match between RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad was set for May 13 at the Bengaluru cricket stadium.

Humour, playfulness, and light-hearted banter are crucial components of advertising, according to Uber’s lawyer, who cautioned that adopting the level suggested by RCB would essentially “kill” these creative aspects.

In the IPL 2025, how are SRH and RCB doing?

With four victories from their first six games in the IPL 2025, RCB is off to a great start. On Friday, April 18, they will play the Punjab Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Rajat Patidar and company will climb to the top of the points table if they can win the game by a significant margin.

At No. 9 in the rankings, SRH is having trouble. After seven games, they have just two victories and five losses. On Wednesday, April 23, the Sunrisers will play again when they take on the Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.