High Court Of Delhi
ANGLO DUTCH,COLOUR AND VARNISHWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED - Appellant
Versus
INDIA TRADING HOUSE - Respondent
Interim Application 58 of 1976
Decided On : 04/08/1976
TRADEMARK - PASSING OFF - COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT - SIMILARITY OF CONTAINERS - INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT - INTERIM INJUNCTION - BALANCE OF CONVENIENCE.
Fact of the Case:
Plaintiff, a manufacturer of superior white zinc paint, alleged that the defendant was passing off its goods as those of the plaintiff by using similar containers and color combinations. The plaintiff also claimed infringement of its copyright in the artistic design of its containers.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the defendant's containers were substantially similar to those of the plaintiff and that the defendant had deliberately imitated the plaintiff's mark. The court also found that the defendant's use of the plaintiff's copyright-protected design was an infringement of the plaintiff's copyright.
Issues: Whether the defendant's containers were similar to those of the plaintiff, whether the defendant had deliberately imitated the plaintiff's mark, whether the defendant's use of the plaintiff's copyright-protected design was an infringement of the plaintiff's copyright, and whether the plaintiff was entitled to an interim injunction.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the defendant's containers were so similar to those of the plaintiff as to be likely to cause confusion or deception, and that the defendant had deliberately imitated the plaintiff's mark. The court also held that the defendant's use of the plaintiff's copyright-protected design was an infringement of the plaintiff's copyright. The court further held that the plaintiff was entitled to an interim injunction to prevent the defendant from continuing to use the plaintiff's mark and copyright-protected design.
Final Decision: The court granted the plaintiff's application for an interim injunction, restraining the defendant from using the plaintiff's mark and copyright-protected design.
( 1 ) THIS is an application on behalf of the plaintiff for restraining the defendant-respondents, its servants, agents and representatives from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale or otherwise dealing in white zinc paint under the containers bearing the numeral 9001, having the get-up-layout, arrangement and the colour combination violet, grey and white as those of the applicant s containers bearing numeral 1001 and from passing off goods as those of the applicant in any manner.
( 2 ) "the application has been filed in a suit for permanent injunction on the basis of infringement of copyright, as well as passing off.
( 3 ) THE case of the plaintiff-applicant is that the plaintiff is one of the leading manufacturers and seller of superior white zinc paint well-known and highly demanded under trade mark 1001. The salient features of the plaintiff s trade mark are the numeral 1001 I appearing in bold type in grey lettering on a white circle along with the expression superior White on top and zinc PAINT on the bottom in the circle. The white circle with its grey lettering is superimposed on violet background with white parallelogram shapes on Top and base borders. On the white parallelograms, again, the numeral 1001 appears in grey lettering. The trading style of the plaintiff appears on one side on a white circle while on the other side it appears in grey lettering. It is further alleged that the get-up, layout, arrangement and violet, grey and white colour combination of the plaintiff s container are unique and distinctive represented in a special manner. It is the further case of the applicant that his superior white zinc paint in the containers described above has gained wide reputation so much so that the said goods bearing any such or similar mark aie liable to be treated as those of the plaintiff or as connected with the plaintiff in some manner or the other. It is further alleged that the applicant s sale of goods under the mark described above from the commencement of the use of the afore-mentioned containers till date runs to the tune of rupees thirty lacs. It is also alleged that the applicant s artistic design on the containers is registered under number : A-13952/75 under Copyright Act, 1957, and is in use for the past nearly one year.
( 4 ) IT is also alleged in the application by the applicant that the respondent is trading under the name and style of M/s. India Trading House and the respondent has very recently adopted identical con-tainers in respect of its white paint. The containers of the respondent, it is alleged, depicts numeral 9001 appearing in bold type in grey lettering on a white circle along with the expression superior WHITE on top and zinc PAINT on the bottom in the circle. The white circle with its grey lettering is super-imposed on violet back-ground with white triangular shapes on top and base borders. On the white triangles, again, the numeral 9001 appears in grey lettering the gct-up, layout, arrangement and violet grey and white colour combination adopted by the respondent are in order to cause confusion and deception in the mind of the trade, and the public and in order to pass off white zinc paint as the genuine product of the applicant. It was averred that the respondent has deliberately imitated the mark belonging to the applicant. The similarity between the respondent s mark as compared to the applicant s mark is not a matter of chance but is with deliberate intention on the part of the defendant to deceive the ultimate purchasers and by said deception to earn profits to which the defendant-respondent is not entitled. The intention of the respondent is apparent from the close similarity of the containers as compared with that of the plaintiff-applicant and also from the fact that the respondent described itself as registered. The use of expression regd. , it is alleged, is fraudulent as no such mark of the respondent is registered under the Trade and Mer
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