JUDGMENT

Jyoti Singh, J.

I.A. 13127/2022 (under Sections 5 and 8 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, by Defendant No. 1)

1. Present suit has been filed by the Plaintiff for permanent injunction restraining the Defendants from using the word/mark SUPERON or any other deceptively similar or identical word/mark in any manner in India, whether as a trademark or trade name or corporate name or domain name on any product or packaging including distributor's certificate, amounting to infringement of the registered trademarks of the Plaintiff as averred in the plaint as well as restraint against passing off, infringement of copyright etc.

2. Plaintiff is stated to be the proprietor of SUPERON and VAC- PAC family of trademarks, trade dresses and other Intellectual Property rights associated with the concerned goods under the said trademarks, in India. Plaintiff and Defendant No. 1 are brothers as also Directors of Defendant No. 3, which is a Company incorporated in the year 2004 and its Board of Directors is composed of Plaintiff and his family members as 50% shareholders on one hand and Defendant No. 1 and his family members as 50% shareholders on the other hand. Defendant No. 1 is also a Director of Defendant No. 2 Company, which operates and functions under the control of Defendant No. 1.

3. Be it noted that Defendants had appeared in the matter on caveat albeit Plaintiff had strongly contested the representation on behalf of Defendant No. 3 as being without authorization from the Company. Defendants No.1 and 2 filed an application under Sections 5 and 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the 1996 Act') seeking reference of the parties to arbitration in view of Arbitration Clause 7.1 of the Memorandum of Family Settlement ('MOFS'), executed between the parties on 10.09.2021.

4. Extensive arguments were canvassed on behalf of the Plaintiff for grant of ad-interim injunction against the Defendants and succinctly put, the arguments were: (a) word SUPERON was coined by the Plaintiff in 2004 to be used as trademark, trade name and corporate name; (b) in the past, domestic business of Defendant No. 3 was handled by the Plaintiff while the overseas business was handled by Defendant No. 1; (c) in the year 2020, Plaintiff, Defendant No. 1 and their family members decided to formally and legally divide the business of Defendant No. 3 and entered into several agreements including the MOFS dated 10.09.2021; (d) under the MOFS, Defendant No. 3 was to be demerged in accordance with the provisions of MOFS and the 'SM Group', which includes Plaintiff, his immediate family members and some companies on one side, was to take over the domestic business of Defendant No. 3 while the 'SDM Group' which includes Defendant No. 1, his immediate family members and some of his companies including Defendant No. 2 would take over the export business of Defendant No. 3; (e) Plaintiff and Defendant No. 1 decided that domestic business of Defendant No. 3 belonging to Plaintiff will be demerged into a new Company by the name of Superon Schweisstechnik Industries Ltd. only for conducting business in India while export business of Defendant No. 3 belonging to Defendant No. 1 would be renamed to Superon Schweisstechnik Corporation Ltd. and that neither shall use the aforesaid Company names with the word SUPERON in each other's territories; (f) Defendant No. 3, Plaintiff and Defendant No. 1 executed a Sale Deed dated 16.12.2021 superseding all previous agreements, arrangements, understandings etc. between the parties as per Clause 9.1 of the Deed and vide Clause 2.1, Defendant No. 3 sold and transferred absolutely and without any reservation full ownership and title of the Intellectual Properties of Defendant No. 3, as described in Schedule I thereof, along with all concomitant rights and interests attached thereto, including the entire associated business goodwill to Plaintiff and Defendant No. 1, as per the arrangement worke