2022 Supreme(Del) 2116

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Jyoti Singh, J.
Triumphant Institute of Management Education Pvt. Ltd. - Appellant
Versus
Times Coaching Centre - Respondent
CS(COMM) 60 of 2021
Decided On : 12-10-2022

Headnote:

TRADEMARK - INFRINGEMENT AND PASSING OFF - SUIT FOR PERMANENT INJUNCTION - INTERIM INJUNCTION GRANTED RESTRAINING THE DEFENDANT FROM USING THE TRADEMARK `TIMES COACHING CENTRE' - APPLICATION BY THE DEFENDANT FOR VACATION OF THE INJUNCTION - WHETHER THE TRADEMARKS `T.I.M.E.' AND `TIMES' ARE DECEPTIVELY SIMILAR - WHETHER THE DEFENDANT IS GUILTY OF PASSING OFF - HELD, YES - INJUNCTION CONFIRMED.

Fact of the Case:

Plaintiff, a renowned owner of a comprehensive chain of coaching Institutes and training centres operating across India, filed a suit seeking permanent injunction restraining the Defendant from providing any services, advertising and/or promoting and/or using the trademark `TIMES COACHING CENTRE', domain name www.timescoaching.in, mobile application `Times Coaching' and YouTube channels as referred to in the plaint and/or any other trademark/trade name/label/device/domain name deceptively similar to Plaintiff's trademarks `T.I.M.E. - TRIUMPHANT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION' and `T.I.M.E. TUTIONS', including the device marks, as well as `time4education' and domain name www.time4education.com. Plaintiff averred that Defendant is a proprietorship entity, engaged in providing educational and coaching services to the students under the aforementioned trademark and is also operating a website www.timescoaching.in for the same. Defendant filed an application for registration of the impugned trademarks /TIMES COACHING CENTRE on 30.11.2019 on a `proposed to be used basis' in class 41 for services `Education; providing of training; Entertainment; and Sporting and Cultural Activities' and Plaintiff has filed an opposition on 26.05.2020, which is pending.

Finding of the Court:

The Court held that the trademarks `T.I.M.E.' and `TIMES' are deceptively similar and that the Defendant is guilty of passing off. The Court noted that the trademarks are visually similar, phonetically identical, and that the services provided by the Plaintiff and the Defendant are similar. The Court also found that the Defendant had adopted the trademark `TIMES' with the intent to misrepresent to the general public that Defendant's Institute has an association or a connection with Plaintiff's Institute or is a branch thereof. The Court further held that the Defendant's use of the trademark `TIMES' is dishonest and only with a view to misrepresent to the general public that Defendant's Institute has an association or a connection with Plaintiff's Institute or is a branch thereof and is calculated to injure its goodwill and reputation.

Issues: Whether the trademarks `T.I.M.E.' and `TIMES' are deceptively similar.

Ratio Decidendi: The Court held that the trademarks `T.I.M.E.' and `TIMES' are deceptively similar because they are visually similar, phonetically identical, and the services provided by the Plaintiff and the Defendant are similar. The Court also found that the Defendant had adopted the trademark `TIMES' with the intent to misrepresent to the general public that Defendant's Institute has an association or a connection with Plaintiff's Institute or is a branch thereof.

Final Decision: The Court confirmed the interim injunction granted restraining the Defendant from using the trademark `TIMES COACHING CENTRE' and any other trademark/trade name/label/device/domain name deceptively similar to Plaintiff's trademarks `T.I.M.E. - TRIUMPHANT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION' and `T.I.M.E. TUTIONS', including the device marks, as well as `time4education' and domain name www.time4education.com. The Court also dismissed the Defendant's application for vacation of the injunction.

JUDGMENT

Jyoti Singh, J.

I.A. 1607/2021(under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 CPC, by Plaintiff) and 7291/2021 (under Order 39 Rule 4 CPC, by Defendant)

1. This judgment will dispose of the aforesaid two applications, one preferred on behalf of the Plaintiff, in which an ex-parte ad-interim injunction was granted on 02.02.2021, and the other filed by the Defendant seeking vacation of the said order.

2. Plaintiff has filed this suit seeking permanent injunction restraining the Defendant and all others acting on its behalf from providing any services, advertising and/or promoting and/or using the trademark `TIMES COACHING CENTRE', domain name www.timescoaching.in, mobile application `Times Coaching' and YouTube channels as referred to in the plaint and/or any other trademark/trade name/label/device/domain name deceptively similar to Plaintiff's trademarks `T.I.M.E. - TRIUMPHANT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION' and `T.I.M.E. TUTIONS', including the device marks, as well as `time4education' and domain name www.time4education.com.

3. It is averred that Plaintiff Company, incorporated under the laws of India in 1992, is a renowned owner of a comprehensive chain of coaching Institutes and training centres operating across India, offering premium education and training for various National and State-level Examinations including CAT, GATE, CLAT, IIT-JEE, GMAT, etc., as also for Bank and SSC Competitive Examinations as one-stop shop for aspiring candidates to get into leading Institutes. The Institutes are run under the trademark and style T.I.M.E., which is an acronym derived from the name of the Company, i.e., TRIUMPHANT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION.

4. Plaintiff's trademarks are stated to be registered as word and device marks in classes 16, 38 and 41 and the registrations are valid and subsisting. Having started its operation in 1992, currently Plaintiff has over 214 offices in 109 towns across the country and trains more than 1,50,000 aspirants for competitive examinations every year. Since 2015, Plaintiff's turnover has been consistently more than Rs. 300 crores annually. The trademark registrations are as follows:

Sr. No.	Trademark	Application No.	Class	Date of Application	User date
1.		1343168	41	09/03/2005	01/05/1992
2.		1408314	41	22/12/2005	01/05/1992
3.		1725338	16	26/08/2008	01/09/1992
4.		2559941	38	05/07/2013	25/08/2000
5.		2712609	38	04/04/2014	25/08/2000
6.		2712599	38	04/04/2014	01/05/1992
7.		2712597	38	04/04/2014	01/05/1992
8.		2820862	16	01/10/2014	26/06/2011
9.		2820864	38	01/10/2014	26/06/2011
10.		2820866	41	01/10/2014	26/06/2011
11.		2820863	38	01/10/2014	26/06/2011
12.		2820865	41	01/10/2014	26/06/2011
13.		2820861	16	01/10/2014	26/06/2011
14.		3201141	41	03/03/2016	04/02/2016

5. In the interest of full disclosure, it is averred in the plaint that Plaintiff had earlier adopted and used the mark `TIME' in respect of its services, however, in view of a settlement reached between the Plaintiff and TIME Inc., USA, in a suit being CS(OS) 1389/2003, Plaintiff changed its mark/logo from TIME to T.I.M.E. - TRIUMPHANT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION.

6. Going by the averments in the plaint, the grievance agitated by the Plaintiff before this Court is the alleged dishonest adoption and use by the Defendant of nearly identical or deceptively similar trademark `Times' and trade name `TIMES COACHING CENTRE'. Plaintiff alleges infringement of its trademarks as well as passing off by the Defendant, violating its statutory and common law rights.

7. It is further averred that Defendant is a proprietorship entity, engaged in providing educational and coaching services to the students under the aforementioned trademark and is also operating a website www.timescoaching.in for the same. On its website Defendant claims to be the best online coaching centre in Delhi, which aids and assists the students to crack all one-day exams.

8. Plaintiff avers that Defendant has filed an application for registration of the impugned trademarks /TIMES COACHING CENTRE on 30.11.2019 on a `proposed to be used basis' in class 41 for

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