The central legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of trademark vulnerability, the scope of registration for slogans, and the application of disclaimers under the Trade Mark Act, 1999.

JUDGMENT

Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

I.A. 550/2017 in CS(COMM) 1045/2016

2. This is an application under Section 124 of the Trade Mark Act, 1999 seeking permission to file rectification/cancellation petitions in respect of the registered trademarks of the Plaintiffs.

3. The Plaintiff No. 2 - Roxtec India Private Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Plaintiff No. 1-Roxtec AB and is responsible for carrying out the Roxtec group's business activities in India. The details of the Plaintiffs' registered trademarks in India are as under:

4. The case of the Defendants is that the aforementioned trademarks are liable to be rectified/cancelled as the same are attempting to monopolize the rubber module logo [IMG], the slogan `WE SEAL YOUR WORLD' for a sealing product and `PEELING HANDS' (DEVICE) mark [IMG] to show how the central opening in the rubber module is to be opened. A black and white circular object Description automatically generated

5. Mr.Suhail Dutt, ld. Sr. Counsel for the Defendants submits that there cannot be any monopoly on the rubber module logo as the same is used by almost all manufacturers and sellers of cable sealing solutions. On the other hand, ld. Counsel for the Plaintiffs submits that the said logo cannot be termed as a rubber module logo as, it is a `BULLS EYE' device mark which is exclusively associated with the Plaintiffs and is registered in India and Australia. He submits that the Defendants have copied the design of the Plaintiff and the `BULLS EYE' device mark thereby, misrepresenting to the public that its products are as good or equivalent to the Plaintiffs' product. It is further submitted by the Plaintiffs that the Defendants have also copied the drawings and presentations of the Plaintiffs.

6. The Court has perused the physical products of the parties which have been shown to the Court. It is seen that the rubber module logo is a circular device mark with concentric circles and the opening in the middle is meant for insertion of the cables. The said depiction is the subject matter of trademark registration no. 1815482.

7. Insofar as the slogan `WE SEAL YOUR WORLD' bearing trademark registration no 1794058 is concerned, the said slogan would give a monopoly in respect of the entire slogan and not on the individual words which are registered as ordinary words from the English language. The position is clearly settled in FAO (OS) 131/2012 titled Colgate Palmolive Company & Anr. v. Anchor Health & Beauty Care Pvt. Ltd., whereby the ld. Division Bench of this Court held that advertising expressions and slogans are registrable as trademarks:

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The learned Single Judge in the present case felt that the fundamental ground on which the suit is based would remain the same even if the proposed amendment is allowed-because both were premised on Colgate's use of the term "All round". This court is of the opinion that this was a rather simplistic approach to the matter. The suit as framed complained that Colgate's description of the product was a problem, but not as a trademark. In other words, the complaint was that Colgate's highlighting that its toothpaste helped in All around decay protection trenched upon some vague undefined right that the plaintiff had in relation to the expression "All round" protection. When the suit was filed, Anchor itself was facing several suits preferred by Colgate. Anchor's action was curious - it did not say that Colgate passed off Anchor's products as their own but only that the description by which Colgate advertised its products was problematic for Anchor. Anchor significa