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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
G.S. SISTANI, J.
SAP AG and Others - Appellants
Versus
Jayanth Kumar and Others - Respondents
CS (OS) No. 2544 of 2013
Decided On : 18-09-2014
Copyright Infringement - Software and Trademark - Copyright Act 1957, Section 2(ffc), Section 2(o), Section 13(1)(a), Section 17 - Trademark Act, Section 29 - The court discussed the ownership of copyright in software programs, exclusive rights of the plaintiff in the trademark 'SAP', infringement of copyrights and trademarks by the defendants, and the principles of comparison in trademark infringement cases. The court granted a permanent injunction, damages, and transfer of domain names in favor of the plaintiff.
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiffs filed a suit for permanent injunction restraining infringement of copyright, trademark, passing off, rendition of accounts of profit, damages, and delivery up against the defendants. The plaintiffs established their ownership of copyright in software programs and the exclusive rights in the trademark 'SAP'. The defendants were found to be infringing the copyrights and trademarks of the plaintiffs.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the plaintiffs had established their rights in the copyrighted software and trademark 'SAP', and the defendants were infringing these rights. The court granted a permanent injunction, damages, and transfer of domain names in favor of the plaintiff.
Issues: The issues involved copyright infringement, trademark infringement, passing off, and rendition of accounts of profit.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the Copyright Act 1957 and the Trademark Act, and emphasized the principles of comparison in trademark infringement cases to grant the injunction and damages in favor of the plaintiff.
Final Decision: The court decreed the suit in favor of the plaintiff, granting a permanent injunction, damages, and transfer of domain names in favor of the plaintiff.
JUDGMENT :
G.S. Sistani, J.
Present suit has been filed by the plaintiffs for permanent injunction restraining infringement of copyright, trademark, passing off, rendition of accounts of profit, damages and delivery up. Summons in the suit and notice in the application under Order XXXIX Rules 1 & 2, were issued on 17.12.2013. On an application for appointment of local commissioner filed by the plaintiffs, a local commissioner was appointed. Counsel for defendant no.3 entered appearance on 09.05.2014 and submitted that defendant no.3 has already blocked the impugned domain and further defendant no.3 would remain bound by the final decree which may be passed. Accordingly, defendant no.3 was deleted from the array of parties vide order dated 09.05.2014. Also, on the same date, despite service, none appeared for defendant nos.1, 2, 4 and 5, consequently, defendant nos.1, 2, 4 and 5 were proceeded ex parte.
2. Plaintiffs have affidavit by way of evidence of Mr. Yogesh Goel(PW1), constituted attorney of the plaintiffs. Affidavit of PW1 has been exhibited as Ex.PW 1/A. Copies of Power of Attorney dated January 30, 2013 and May 12, 2011 in favour of PW1 have been exhibited as Ex.PW 1/1 and Ex.PW1/2, respectively.
3. PW1 has deposed in his affidavit that plaintiff No. 1 was founded in 1972 and during the course of almost four decades has evolved from a small, regional enterprise into the market leader in enterprise application software and the plaintiffs also offer and sell world-class training and education services to train their workforce of customers. Plaintiffs offer a full suite of education courses and certifications to help their customers leverage the power of their software and services, through both live and on-line courses. It has also been deposed that plaintiff no.1 is recognized as the global market leader in providing collaborative, inter-enterprise business solutions for all types of industries and for every major market.
4. PW1 has also deposed that plaintiff no.1 provides various business solutions to its customers which are collectively called as SAP Business Suite and that SAP Business Suite is based on plaintiff no.1's technology platform called NetWeaver. Plaintiff No. 1's primary and most popular product is SAP ERP, a bunch of following modules:
(b) SAP HR
(c) SAP MM
(d) SAP SD
(e) SAP PP
5. PW1 has further deposed that in early 1970s, plaintiff no.1 developed RF-System, later referred to as R/1, an automatic accounting and transaction-processing program that featured standard software and real-time computing. This software title was the first of several in a series of packaged ERP solutions. In 1979, plaintiff no.1 introduced SAP R/2 software, and in 1992, plaintiff no.1 introduced SAP R/3, a new architectural paradigm by combining three-tier client-server architecture with the business concept of enhanced process integration. SAP R/3 (also called as SAP ERP i.e. Enterprise Resource Planning), software met with overwhelming approval of the user industries and ushered in a new generation of enterprise software. SAP ERP 6.0 is the latest version of SAP ERP software and all the rights including the copyright in the said software are owned by plaintiff no. 1.
6. PW1 has next deposed that the software products of the plaintiffs including SAP ERP, are customized solutions, tailored to the specific needs of each client. It has also been deposed that the said software products are not available off-the-shelf and in India, plaintiffs' software products are not available with any computer hardware vendors as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) product or as a gift.
7. Further, due to high levels of customization of plaintiffs' software products or SAP software products, the plaintiffs have purpose-specific versions of its software license agreements. These license agreements are purpose-specific because the plaintiffs' software titles, licensed for any particular stream of use, are expressly prohibited from being u
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