The Supreme Court has nudged online matchmaking platforms Matrimony.com and Jodi365 (FreeElective Network) to settle their disputes over the use of the trademark ‘Jodi’ between themeselves in an amicable fashion.
Matrimony.com may now have to find a new name for its matchmaking app ‘Jodii’ after the Supreme Court signalled that it was not inclined to interfere with a Madras High Court ruling in favour of rival Jodi365, which had alleged that the “Jodi” mark was deceptively similar to its brand.
Issuing the ruling on August 21, Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe of the SC described the Madras High Court’s ruling as fair and added that there did not appear to be any need to interfere with it.The SC indicated that it would consider the matter again on September 7 if the parties were unable to arrive at a settlement.
The apex court has now given the two parties an opportunity to settle the trademark dispute among themselves. Matrimony.com, as per sources in the know, has also proposed to rename the app “Jodi Matrimony” rather than face the complete discontinuation of the service.
“FreeElective Network / Jodi365 has yet to receive any formal proposal from Matrimony.com. We are open to constructive discussions and will evaluate any fair proposal in good faith,” S Anil Kumar, founder and CEO of FreeElective, the parent company of Jodi365.com, told businessline. We have faced genuine hardship and many instances of users confusing “Jodi365” and “Jodii”; some thought we were related, others wrote to us about issues on “Jodii” assuming we were responsible, he added. “Our own users and potential customers were hesitating to subscribe because they were confused between the two brands,” he said.
next steps
Murugavel Janakiraman, the founder and CEO of Matrimony.com did not respond to businessline’s queries on their next steps to settle the issue.
The two companies have been been engaged in a battle since 2021, when in October 2021, Matrimony.com launched a mobile app called “Jodii” for matchmaking/matrimonial services. Jodi365 had already been in business for over a decade at that point.
Jodi365 then sent a cease‑and‑desist notice to Matrimony.com, asserting their registered rights and pointing to likely confusion.However the larger company of the two Matrimony.com claimed that “Jodii” is an original, arbitrary term, and they were free to use it.
Jodi365 then resorted to filing a trademark infringement suit in the Madras High Court and in July 2022, this was dismissed by a Single Judge decision.
However founder Kumar then appealed the decision, which was then allowed on August 11, 2026 with Madras HC issuing a permanent injunction was issued on Matrimony against the use of the term. Immediately, on August 12, Matrimony.com filed a “Special Leave Petition” before the Supreme Court, requesting a stay on the permanent injunction.