“Dailybasket has to stop using the domain name, the mobile app, or any prominent feature of BigBasket, stop using the logo, stop selling products under the name ‘Dailybasket’, remove all references to the name and logo from third party sites, remove all material containing the name, and transfer dailybasket.com to BigBasket at no cost, pay BigBasket’s legal team of Rs 2 lakh to cover the legal notice, and not to use a domain containing “basket” as a prominent feature in future.
Coimbatore: A startup from Coimbatore, Dailybasket, which operates grocery e-commerce services to the denizens of Coimbatore was in a state of amusement and shock, when they received a cease and desist letter from one of India’s unicorns, BigBasket for allegedly misusing it’s trademark. The contents of the letter were nothing short of ‘bullying’ say the founders of this humble Coimbatore startup and they have gone public in this fight with BigBasket by putting out their case in a website bbisabully.com. Going through the contents of the website, it makes one wonder which part of Daily Basket’s online presence is illegal as mentioned by Big Basket.
Online grocer BigBasket sent a legal ‘cease and desist’ notice to smaller Coimbatore-based online grocery Dailybasket, claiming that the latter is offering identical products through a “deceptively and/or confusingly similar name”. It also alleged that the mark or logo is similar to that of BigBasket.
“Your use of the word ‘daily’ along with ‘basket’ does not make your name distinctive, and our client strongly believes that you have dishonestly adopted the name and mark “dailybasket” to make your name and mark deceptively and/or confusingly similar to our client’s brand BigBasket,” stated the notice.
It further alleges that Dailybasket deliberately copied the layout of the BigBasket website and app. Dailybasket only operates in Coimbatore, and is listed on the Google Play Store as ‘Daily Basket Coimbatore - Best grocery delivery app’. BigBasket alleged that Dailybasket app is “extremely similar” to its app, and that by using the app, Dailybasket is “malafidely trying to create an impression” that it is trying to associate itself with BigBasket for Coimbatore.
BigBasket alleged that by offering “identical products on an almost identical online platform”, Dailybasket was violating BigBasket’s trademark rights.
“Your unauthorized acts are severely detrimental to the distinctive character and reputation of our client's brand ‘BigBasket/Bigbasket.com’. The same are causing irreparable injury that cannot be computed in monetary terms,” BigBasket said in its legal notice.
Bigbasket.com
Dailybasket.com
While it’s demands are contentious to say the least, it takes a completely bullying tone when it said “Dailybasket has to stop using the domain name, the mobile app, or any prominent feature of BigBasket, stop using the logo, stop selling products under the name ‘Dailybasket’, remove all references to the name and logo from third party sites, remove all material containing the name, and transfer dailybasket.com to BigBasket at no cost, pay BigBasket’s legal team of Rs 2 lakh to cover the legal notice, and not to use a domain containing “basket” as a prominent feature in future.
Dailybasket, though currently only operating in Coimbatore, has not taken this lying down. It has created a website called bbisabully.com to respond to the allegations made by BigBasket in its legal notice. Started by Ramesh Vel in August 2020, he said its plan is to set up a string of mini supermarkets throughout Coimbatore and make them act as delivery hubs for the online delivery business. Currently, it said it operates one warehouse and is about to open a mini-store on February 25 in Peelamedu.
“Though we have a word 'basket' in our brand and we do deliver online groceries, it doesn't mean we copied their trademarks or unethically copied their website & apps. We never misuse BigBasket's brand in any way as they claimed in the cease and desist letter. That's a blatant lie,” Dailybasket said.
“Colors are different, fonts are different, graphics is different and the name itself is different. So they want to sue us because we have 'basket' in our name. Last time we checked no one has a monopoly in the word 'basket' or having the word 'basket' and selling groceries online. NaturesBasket.com actually started in 2005, way before bigbasket,” Dailybasket said in their website.
For the allegations of the app and website being similar, Dailybasket provided side by side screenshots and said the only common things are the search bar, category menu and product visuals. “But It's the same everywhere, go look at grofers, JioMart amazon, flipkart or any one for that matter. It's an online ecommerce portal for god's sake,” it said.
Dailybasket has decided to go public and fight BigBasket in the limelight and said that “We are a tiny bootstrapped company currently only serving in Coimbatore and about to open our first physical location. We don't have that mighty power & money bigbasket possesses to engage in endless lawsuits and unlawful intimidations.” Calling BigBasket’s move as “corporate bullying”, it urged the management to look into the matter. “You are crying foul when you are the one engaing in unfair competition & unlawful demands with a tiny 2 person startup,” Dailybasket said.
This move comes as the Tata’s are finalising a deal to pick up an expected Rs. 9000 crore majority stake in Big Basket — which it said would be part of its super app ambitions. Accordinging to reports, the companies have approached the Competition Commission of India for approval.
While these things tend to go through legal puzzles over long periods, we at SimpliCity urge the public of Coimbatore to stand behind their startup who we think is not in the wrong side of this legal battle and use dailybasket.com daily to help them fight this ‘Big Brother’ style wrangling from BigBasket.