The main legal point established in the judgment is the determination of prior user rights and the interpretation of territorial jurisdiction under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

PRATHIBA M. SINGH, J.

1. The Plaintiff has filed the present suit seeking injunction restraining use of the name ‘AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL’ i.e. Defendant No. 6 by Defendant No. 5 - Gyanoday Educational & Medical Trust. Defendants No. 1 to 4 are the trustees of the Defendant No. 5’s Trust.

2. The case of the Plaintiff is that it started its first school by the name of ‘AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL’ in 1991 in Saket, New Delhi. Over the years, it has established several schools under the name of ‘AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL’. Apart from this, the Plaintiff’s Trust also runs various other educational institutions including ‘AMITY UNIVERSITY’ in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and ‘AMITY LAW SCHOOL’. ‘AMITY UNIVERSITY’ has campuses at Noida, Gurgaon, Lucknow, Jaipur and Gwalior. The Plaintiff claims that since it has been established, the Plaintiff has acquired a huge reputation, both in India and abroad. It has repeatedly been awarded as the “No. 1 private university.” According to the Plaintiff, it holds registrations in various classes, under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, as detailed in para 18 of the plaint. It operates a website called Lucknow, Jaipur and Gwalior. The Plaintiff claims that since it has been established, the Plaintiff has acquired a huge reputation, both in India and abroad. It has repeatedly been awarded as the “No. 1 private university.” According to the Plaintiff, it holds registrations in various classes, under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, as detailed in para 18 of the plaint. It operates a website called Lucknow, Jaipur and Gwalior. The Plaintiff claims that since it has been established, the Plaintiff has acquired a huge reputation, both in India and abroad. It has repeatedly been awarded as the “No. 1 private university.” According to the Plaintiff, it holds registrations in various classes, under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, as detailed in para 18 of the plaint. It operates a website called. The case of the Plaintiff is that the use of ‘AMITY’, especially in relation to education, would constitute violation of the Plaintiff’s rights and that ‘AMITY’ is a well -known mark under Section 2(l)(zg).

3. The defence put forth by the Defendant is that a Trust by the name Gyanada Educational Trust started AMITY SCHOOL, Bharuch as a lower primary school in 1986 for standard 1st to 3rd in Gujarat. The school has since been running and is in fact affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. A large number of documents have been placed on record to submit that AMITY SCHOOL, Bharuch has been in existence since 1986. It is averred that vide a MoU dated 27th December, 2004, Gyanada Educational Trust permitted the use of the name AMITY by Defendant No. 5 - Gyanoday Educational & Medical Trust, Bharuch. The said MoU is relied upon by the Defendants. It is the case of the Defendants that the Trustees of Gyanada Educational Trust are the same as those of Gyanoday Educational & Medical Trust. They belong to one family, and thus the Defendant is a prior user of the mark ‘AMITY’ as compared to the Plaintiff which adopted the mark ‘AMITY’ only in 1991.

4. The Defendant, therefore, pleads that it is a prior user of the mark ‘AMITY’. Its rights to use the word ‘AMITY’ cannot be in any manner constrained by the Plaintiff.

5. The present suit was filed in May, 2014. On 30th May, 2014, this Court granted the following order in favour of the Plaintiff:

“Learned counsel for the plaintiff submits that plaintiff is running a school known as 'Amity International School' not only in Delhi but also in NOIDA, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Lucknow and Amethi as well. Plaintiff is a 'Amity Group of Education Institutions' which was established in the year 1991. Besides this, plaintiff has also 'Amity University' in Utter Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Plaintiff is also running 'Amity Law School', 'Amity