India, July 17 -- The Delhi High Court has cancelled the trademark registration of ZORA, used by a Delhi-based fabric trader from Sadar Bazaar, ruling in favour of Spanish retail giant Inditex, which owns the Zara brand. The judgment was delivered by Justice Jyoti Singh on Thursday. Justice Singh set aside the Registrar of Trade Marks' February 2024 order, which had rejected Inditex's opposition, and directed that ZORA be removed from the Trade Marks Register within two months. Inditex argued that ZORA was phonetically and visually similar to ZARA, a trademark registered in India since 1993. The Court agreed, observing that the two four-letter words looked and sounded alike, with only one vowel differing, making them likely to confuse an average consumer. The Court also clarified that a trademark does not need to be formally declared "well-known" to receive protection under the Trade Marks Act. Citing Zara's long-standing reputation, extensive retail presence and prior recognition by the Delhi High Court, it held that the brand was entitled to oppose the registration of ZORA, even though the latter was registered for fabric products.HTC...