World Wrestling Entertainment Inc v Reshma Collection

• WWE, a US company, owns marks and copyright relating to its wrestling entertainment
• It sued the defendants for trade mark and copyright infringement in the Delhi High Court
• WWE had no office in Delhi, but sold merchandise and services to customers in Delhi through its website
• By order of 4 October 2013 the single judge held that the Delhi court lacked territorial jurisdiction and returned the plaint
• WWE appealed

1. Whether a plaintiff selling to customers in Delhi through its website "carries on business" in Delhi under s.134(2) Trade Marks Act and s.62(2) Copyright Act
2. Where an online contract of sale is concluded

• A website offering goods or services is an invitation to offer; the customer's order is the offer, and acceptance completes the contract where it is communicated (applying Bhagwan Goverdhandas Kedia)
• When customers in Delhi buy through WWE's website, contracts are concluded and business is transacted in Delhi
• The plaintiff therefore "carries on business" in Delhi under s.134(2) and s.62(2) (considering Dhodha House)
• The single judge's order returning the plaint was set aside and the suit restored
• Later history: on 5 October 2016, G.S. Sistani J. decreed the suit ex parte, declared WWE's marks well-known, and awarded Rs 5 lakh punitive damages

The special jurisdiction provisions in s.134(2) and s.62(2) let a plaintiff sue where it carries on business. Business can be carried on through the internet: where a plaintiff's website enables customers in a place to buy its goods and services, the transactions are concluded in that place, and the plaintiff carries on business there. This is a test about the plaintiff's own business, not about where the defendant targets its activities.