JUDGMENT (Oral)

I.A. 11325/2023 & I.A. 18703/2023

1. The plaintiff Havells India Ltd alleges infringement, by the defendant Polycab India Ltd, of three designs, registered in the plaintiff's favour by the Controller of Patents and Designs ("the Controller"). These registrations were granted with effect from 19 February 2016, 28 January 2021 and 2 February 2022. Each registration pertains to a ceiling fan. The ceiling fans manufactured and sold as per the registrations dated 19 February 2016, 28 January 2021 and 2 February 2022 were of the ENTICER, BIANCA ART and BIANCA ART-SANGANER models. For the sake of convenience, this order would alternatively refer to the m as the 2016, 2021 and 2022 suit designs. Novelty was certified, in respect of the 2016 suit design, as residing in its shape and configuration; in respect of the 2021 suit design in its shape, configuration and surface pattern and in the 2022 suit design in its surface pattern.

2. The various views of the aforenoted fans, as registered by the 2016, 2021 and 2022 registrations, may be provided thus:

2016 ENTICER design (Novelty residing in shape and configuration)

BOTTOM VIEW PERSPECTIVE VIEWSIDE VIEWTOP VIEW

2021 BIANCA ART design (Novelty residing in shape, configuration and surface pattern)

FRONT VIEW BACK VIEWTOP VIEWBOTTOM VIEWRIGHT SIDE VIEWLEFT SIDE VIEWPERSPECTIVE VIEW

2022 BIANCA ART-SANGANER suit design (Novelty residing in surface pattern)

FRONT VIEW BACK VIEWTOP VIEWBOTTOM VIEWRIGHT SIDE VIEWLEFT SIDE VIEWPERSPECTIVE VIEW

3. The plaint does not make any specific assertion with respect to any fan of the defendant which infringes the 2021 suit design. An omnibus allegation has been made to the effect that the defendant's ELEGANZ PLUS range of fans infringe the 2021 as well as 2022 suit designs. However, when one peruses the plaint and the documents filed with the plaint with respect to actual comparisons, com parisons have been made only between the 2016 ENTICER suit design and the defendant's ELANZA range of fans, and between the 2022 BIANCA ART-SANGANER suit design and the defendant's ELEGANZ PLUS range of fans, to allege that the latter, in each case, infringes the former. To wit, para 7 of the plaint reads thus:

""7. That the Defendant, with an ulterior motive to come close to the Plaintiff, has blatantly copied all the essential features of the Plaintiff's design including entire get-up, lay-out, colour scheme, patterns, ornamentation (trims), overall appearance, etc. A comparison chart between various fans of the Plaintiff and the impugned fans of the Defendant is reproduced below:

DESCRIPTIONPLAINTIFF'S ENTICER DEFENDANT'S ELANZACeiling Fan Images of fan motorImages of fan bladesDESCRIPTION PLAINTIFF'S BIANCA ART-SANGANERDEFENDANT'S ELEGANZ PLUSCeiling FanImages of fan motorImages of fan blades

The defendant's ELANZA and ELEGANZ PLUS ranges of fans, corresponding to the 2021 and 2022 suit designs, are markedly different in appearance, with the BIANCA ART range of fans being entirely devoid of ornamentation, whereas the BIANCA ART-SANGANER range of fans have a marked surface pattern on the central motor as well as the blade projections. The BIANCA ART range of fans correspond to the 2021 suit design whereas the BIANCA ART-SANGANER range corresponds to the 2022 suit design. The 2021 suit design has been certified as having novelty in shape, configuration and surface pattern, whereas the 2022 suit design has been certified has having novelty only in the surface pattern. The comparative table above - which is the only comparison forthcoming in the plaint or the documents filed with it - compares the defendant's ELANZA fans with the plaintiff's 2016 ENTICER suit design and the defendant's ELEGANZ PLUS fans with the plaintiff's 2022 BIANCA ART-SANGANER suit design, but there is no comparison of any fan of the defendant with the 2021 BIANCA ART suit design. Mr Lall contends that, therefore, while the prayer in the plaint seeks injunction

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