Wow Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd. v. Wow Burger & Anr.

The Delhi High Court recently rejected an interim injunction sought by Wow Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd. (“Plaintiff”) against the use of the marks ‘WOW’ and ‘WOW! BURGER’ by the Defendants. The Court held that ‘WOW!’ is a common, laudatory expression in the food and hospitality industry as it is used to express delight over the quality of food, and no single entity can claim exclusive rights over it. 

The Plaintiff argued that it had coined and used the ‘WOW!’ and ‘WOW! MOMO’ marks in 2008, and had been using it continuously since then, along with other WOW! formative marks. It claimed that its use of WOW! marks was arbitrary in the food/restaurant industry, giving it the right to prevent the Defendants from similar marks. The Plaintiff also stated that the disclaimers imposed by the Trade Marks Registry on some of its registrations did not prevent enforcement of its rights especially against competitors in the same industry.

The court rejected these arguments, and noted that the Plaintiff only had registrations for composite marks, rather than the standalone WOW! mark. Thereafter, the Plaintiff could not claim exclusive rights over a single element of its registered marks. The court further ruled that 'WOW!' is a common expression and an adjective describing product quality, and the Plaintiff could not assert exclusive rights over it. The court also held that even if such words are registered, other parties are allowed to use them honestly and descriptively.

The court also found that the disclaimers imposed by the Registry on some of the Plaintiff's 'WOW!' formative marks were appropriate. It also referenced the Plaintiff’s earlier statements to the Registry, where it had admitted that WOW! is an ordinary English word that becomes distinctive only when combined with another mark. The court also held that the term 'WOW!' had not acquired a secondary meaning exclusively associated with the Plaintiff, as the Plaintiff had only been using it since 2008, which was not considered a long enough period. The court also noted that other businesses in different sectors were also using 'WOW!' in their trademarks.

Consequently, the court refused to grant an interim injunction to the Plaintiff. It is pertinent to note that the decision of the Single Judge has been challenged in appeal before the Division Bench, which is currently pending.

Wow Momo Foods Private Limited v. Wow Burger & Anr., CS (COMM) 1161/2024, judgment dated September 12, 2025

Read the judgement copy here.