JUDGMENT

Sanjeev Narula, J. (Oral)

1. Having suffered a defeat in the initial suit, the Plaintiffs have come to Court with the present suit, which is based on the same cause of action and seeks nearly identical reliefs. This time again, Plaintiffs claim prior user rights and pray for restraining the Defendant from infringing and passing off their trademarks/artistic work, "KOBE, " [hereinafter "Subject Trademarks"], while seeking damages, rendition of accounts and delivery up, among other reliefs.

2. Except for the mark `', Plaintiffs have no statutory rights in the afore-noted marks. On the other hand, Defendant is the registered proprietor of the word mark `KOBE' bearing No. 1971064 in Class 2 since 26th May, 2010. Nonetheless, Plaintiffs assert that they are the prior user of the Subject Trademarks and on that basis allege that the trademarks "KOBE"/ "" being used by the Defendant [hereinafter "Impugned Trademarks"] in respect of identical goods (spray paint, paint colours, varnishes/ preservatives against rust, etc.) are identical/deceptively similar to afore-noted Subject Trademarks. Thus, Plaintiffs allege passing off and infringement.

3. Undisputedly, the Impugned Tradema