The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been sued by children’s magazine Champak in the Delhi High Court for using its brand name to name its Indian Premier League (IPL) AI tool - a robotic dog.

The magazine, which is quite popular among children, accused the Indian cricket board of using its name in a clear infringement of the publisher’s registered mark.

“This AI tool [robotic dog] has been named as Champak. The IPL has been going on. The product was introduced earlier but it was named later on April 23 purportedly based on fan voting,” advocate Amit Gupta, representing Delhi Press, submitted before the court, adding there are regular reports about this 'robotic dog' in the media.

The court, however, refused to entertain the magazine’s claim regarding its character name ‘Chiku’, since it is also the nickname of Virat Kohli. The court observed that no litigation was initiated with regard to such use.

“When did you come to know about that? It is a fact you knew about that but you have not initiated against that,” the judge said.

In his response, Gupta said that people generally give nicknames on the basis of characters in comic books and movies.

The court then asked the counsel to explain how the use of the name Champak amounted to commercial exploitation in the case.

“My magazine is known for animal characters. Let us take the product to be distinct but the very use is causing detriment. It is causing dilution,” Gupta said in his response. The court, however, observed that there was no allegation of unfair use in the pleadings. “There is nothing on record that there is something which is causing some dilution and detriment,” it said.

In his response, Gupta argued that the advertising and marketing of the product showed commercial exploitation. “IPL is a commercial venture,” he added.

Observing the use of the name Chiku, the court said the publisher could earn royalties by going against Kohli for using the nickname of the cricketer. However, Gupta said the cricketer was not launching a product.

“In case he were to launch a product Chiku, that would be a commercial exploitation,” the counsel said.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from IPL 2025,IPL Orange Cap, IPL Purple Cap, Most Sixes in IPL, Cricket, Sports and around the world.