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2022 Supreme(Del) 1830

VIBHU BAKHRU, AMIT MAHAJAN
Peps Industries Private Limited – Appellant
Versus
Kurlon Limited – Respondent


Advocates appeared:
Mr. Jayant K. Mehta, Sr. Adv. with Ms. Suveni Bhagat & Mr. P.D. V. Srikar, Advs., for the Appellant; Mr. Kumar Sudeep & Mr. Anuj Singh, Advs., for the Respondents

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points summarized:

  1. The appellant, Peps Industries Private Limited (PEPS), filed a suit seeking an injunction against Kurlon Limited for using the trademark "NO TURN" on mattresses and related products. PEPS's mark was registered in its favor and has been in continuous use since 2008 (!) (!) .

  2. Kurlon Limited claimed prior use of the mark "NO TURN" since 2007 and defended itself under Section 34 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, which allows a prior user to continue using a mark despite subsequent registration by another party (!) (!) .

  3. The initial court dismissed PEPS's application for interim relief, holding that "NO TURN" was a descriptive mark related to mattresses, and there was no evidence that it had acquired secondary meaning or distinctiveness to qualify for protection as a distinctive mark (!) .

  4. PEPS argued that the court erred in dismissing the injunction, emphasizing that Kurlon had not challenged the validity of PEPS’s registration or raised the issue of descriptiveness during proceedings. They contended that the mark "NO TURN" is not generic or descriptive and that its registration was valid (!) (!) (!) .

  5. Kurlon’s defense was based on prior use and the claim that "NO TURN" is a coined word, inherently distinctive, and therefore entitled to protection. They also argued that the mark could be descriptive if it had acquired secondary meaning, but they had not raised this issue earlier in the proceedings (!) (!) .

  6. The court found that Kurlon was estopped from raising the argument that "NO TURN" was descriptive because it had previously claimed the mark was distinctive and had not challenged its validity during registration or in the initial proceedings (!) (!) .

  7. The court emphasized that issues not raised by the parties cannot be decided by the court, and the scope of the pleadings limits the issues for determination. It held that the court should not decide on the descriptiveness of the mark if it was not specifically contested by the defendant (!) (!) .

  8. The court also clarified that once a mark is registered, it is prima facie valid unless challenged, and the validity cannot be questioned suo motu without proper grounds. No such challenge was made by Kurlon during the proceedings (!) (!) .

  9. The court recognized that even descriptive marks can be protected if they have acquired secondary meaning through long-term use, but in this case, such evidence was not established or argued (!) (!) .

  10. Ultimately, the court concluded that the defendant’s defense under prior use was not sufficiently established, and the registration of PEPS’s mark was valid. Therefore, PEPS was entitled to an interim injunction restraining Kurlon from using the "NO TURN" mark or any deceptively similar mark until the final disposal of the suit (!) (!) .

  11. The appeal was allowed, and the previous dismissal of the injunction was set aside. Kurlon was restrained from using the "NO TURN" mark or any similar trademark pending the outcome of the case, with parties bearing their own costs (!) (!) .

Would you like a further analysis or specific legal advice based on these points?


JUDGMENT

Amit Mahajan, J. - The appellant, Peps Industries Private Limited (hereafter 'PEPS') has filed the present appeal impugning the judgment dated 16.03.2020 (hereafter 'the impugned judgment') passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in IA No. 4871/2019 & IA No. 6715/2019 in CS (Comm) No. 174/2019 dismissing the application filed by PEPS under Order XXXIX Rule 1 & 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC).

Brief Facts

2. PEPS claims that it has been using the mark 'NO TURN' in respect of mattresses, wall beds etc. since 15.01.2008. The mark 'NO TURN' is registered in favour of PEPS by a registration dated 04.02.2011 in respect of goods falling under Class 20 for mattresses, wall beds, adjustable beds, coir mats, spring mattresses, sofas, pillows, cushions, seats and other related products.

3. Kurlon Limited (hereafter 'KURLON') is also using the same mark 'NO TURN' in respect of mattresses and claims to be using it since the year 2007. PEPS, on becoming aware about the use of the same mark 'NO TURN' on the same product by KURLON, filed a suit seeking permanent injunction against KURLON from the use of the said mark.

4. KURLON took a stand that they have been using the m

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