The main legal point established in the judgment is the protection of design rights under the Designs Act 2000, focusing on the novelty and originality of the design, registration of assignment deed, and the application of relevant sections to determine design infringement.

JUDGMENT (Oral)

I.A.20127/2022 (under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of CPC)

1. By this judgement, I proceed to decide the present application, which seeks interim injunctive relief against the defendants.

2. There are fifteen defendants, of which the allegedly infringing defendants are Defendants 3 to 15. Of these defendants, the suit stands settled and decree sheet drawn up in respect of Defendants 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and attempts at settlement of the dispute with Defendants 15 are in progress.

3. Defendant 9 has remained absent in these proceedings. The only surviving defendants are Defendant 1-Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd and Defendant 7, who continues to contest the plaint.

4. As such, this plaint survives for consideration only vis-`-vis Defendant 7.

5. I have heard Mr. Vaibhav Vutts, learned Counsel for the plaintiff and Mr. Anil Kumar Sahu, learned Counsel for Defendant 7, at considerable length.

6. The present case is one of alleged design infringement. The plaintiff asserts Design 263764, certified in favour of the plaintiff on 30th June 2014 by the Patent Office. The design is in respect of a disposable female urination device titled 'PEE BUDDY', intended to enable females to pass urine while standing. The certificate of registration registers the suit design in its perspective view, the left side view, the right side view and the top side view, which are as under:

7. The statement of novelty, in the certification, certifies that 'novelty resides in the shape and configuration of the product'.

8. The plaintiff is aggrieved by the fact that Defendant 7 is manufacturing and selling identical devices under the name product is identical to the suit design and, therefore, constitutes piracy of the suit design within the meaning of Section 22(1)^{1[22. Piracy of registered design. -
(1) During the existence of copyright in any design it shall not be lawful for any person -
(a) for the purpose of sale to apply or cause to be applied to any article in any class of articles in which the design is registered, the design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof, except with the licence or written consent of the registered proprietor, or to do anything with a view to enable the design to be so applied; or
(b) to import for the purposes of sale, without the consent of the registered proprietor, any article belonging to the class in which the design has been registered, and having applied to it the design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof; or
(c) knowing that the design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof has been applied to any article in any class of articles in which the design is registered without the consent of the registered proprietor, to publish or expose or cause to be published or exposed for sale that article.]}



of the Designs Act 2000.

9. Physical samples of the plaintiff's product and the defendants' product have been handed over to the court. While the plaintiff's product is clearly reflected in the views contained in the design certificate issued to the plaintiff, a photograph of the perspective view, the left side view, the right side view and the top side view of the defendant's product may be provided thus:

10. It is clear, from a comparison of the two products that the design of the Defendant 7's product is identical to that of the plaintiff's product.

11. Indeed, Mr. Anil Kumar Sahu, learned Counsel for Defendant 7, does not dispute this fact.

Rival Submissions

12. Mr Sahu launches a three-pronged attack on the suit patent.

13. Lack of novelty and originality - Section 22(3)^{2[(3) In any suit or any other proceeding for relief under sub-section (2), every ground on which the registration of a design may be cancelled under Section 19 shall be available as a ground of defence.]} read with Section 19(b) and (c)^3[19.