The main legal point established in the judgment is the recognition and protection of a 'well-known' trademark under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and the Copyright Act, 1957, based on extensive use, reputation, and enforcement proceedings.

JUDGMENT

Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

I.A. 11834/2023 (for substitution)

2. This is an application seeking substitution of the authorized representative of the Plaintiff.

3. The earlier authorized representative was Major Sanjeev Chowdhry who has been replaced by Mr. Harshit Gupta. In view of the averments made in the application, substitution is allowed. Application is disposed of.

CS(COMM) 782/2022 & I.A. 18343/2022 (u/O XXXIX, Rule 1&2 CPC), 12263/2023 (u/O XXIII Rule 3 CPC)

4. The present suit for grant of permanent injunction was filed by the Plaintiff-Charter 4 Corp., seeking protection of its mark red-box device mark `SUPREME' [IMG] in respect of readymade clothing, accessories, etc. The Plaintiff adopted the mark `SUPREME' in 1994 in the U.S.A., and the same has been used in India since 2006 among Indian customers.

5. The Plaintiff also has a website supremenewyork.com, for promoting and marketing its goods. The Plaintiff has more than 700 registrations, globally for the mark `SUPREME' in classes such as Class-25, and it has been in continuous use. The Plaintiff also avers that it has filed applications for its `SUPREME' red box device mark in India. The details of the Plaintiff's trade mark applications in India are contained below:

6. In the present case, the grievance against the Defendant-Dhanpreet Singh, trading as M/s. Punjabi Adda, is that the Defendant was using the mark `SUPREME' on its T-shirts and was selling them through their websites, www.punjabiadda.com and www.punjabiadda.us. The Plaintiff became aware of the Defendant's activities, and use of the mark `SUPREME' in July 2022. The Plaintiff then filed the present suit seeking permanent injunction.

7. Vide order dated 11th November, 2022, an ex-parte ad-interim injunction was granted wherein it was observed as follows:

"I.A. 18343/2022 (under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 CPC, by Plaintiff)

13. Present application has been preferred by the Plaintiff under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 for grant of an ex-parte ad-interim injunction.

14. Issue notice to the Defendant through all prescribed modes, returnable on 31.01.2023, before the Court.

...

16. It is averred that over the years Plaintiff has been using different iterations of the said trademark with varying colours, fonts, backgrounds etc. For the past several years due to the extensive use and high quality, the business model of the Plaintiff has made its readymade clothing etc. bearing the Plaintiffs mark so desirable that these products are advertised by third parties even without solicitation by the Plaintiff and in fact Plaintiffs old advertisements are now auctioned online for hundreds of dollars. Plaintiff has received extensive media coverage from leading media houses and the trademarks are exclusively associated in the minds of the public with the Plaintiff and none else. In the year 2000, Plaintiff registered the domain name SUPREMENEWYORK.COM. Plaintiff has expanded its reach on the World Wide Web by establishing official accounts on Facebook, Instagram etc. and has enormous social media presence.

17. It is stated that Plaintiff has collaborated and partnered with various prominent and high-profile global brands to launch its limited edition collaborative merchandise and other products such as with Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Nike, Timberland etc. Plaintiff has also worked with several renowned designers, artists, photographers and musicians, who have consistently endorsed the brand. The reputation and goodwill of the goods of the Plaintiff under its trademarks is evident from the volumes of production of goods under Supreme x Hanes collab in India which was 542,360 packages. Plaintiff has