Court upheld the priority of the Plaintiff's registered trademarks, finding a prima facie case for infringement due to deceptive similarity, justifying an interim injunction against the Defendants.

Headnote:(A) Trade Marks Act, 1999 - Section 135(2) - Copyright Act, 1957 - Plaintiff seeks injunction against defendant for infringement of trademark `Delhi Public School' and crest logo - Plaintiff established goodwill and reputation since 1948 and has numerous registered trademarks - Court found prima facie case in favor of the Plaintiff due to deceptive similarity with Defendant's marks and potential confusion among the public. (Paras 1, 5, 12)

(B) Interim Injunction - Balance of convenience lies in favor of Plaintiff, and irreparable loss likely if injunction not granted - Defendants restrained from using Plaintiff's trademarks until next hearing. (Paras 12, 13, 14)

Facts of the case:
The Plaintiff is a registered society running multiple educational institutions, claiming infringement of their trademarks by the Defendant operating under `Delhi Public International School' and `DPIS'. The Plaintiff previously secured an injunction against misuse of their marks by Mr. Pal.

Findings of Court:
Granting interim injunction in favor of the Plaintiff to prevent misleading the public during admission season.

Issues: Whether an interim injunction should be granted based on the existence of a prima facie case and balance of convenience.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the Plaintiff's extensive prior use and recognition of their trademarks warranted protection to prevent confusion and deception regarding educational services.

Result: Defendants restrained from using the impugned trademarks.

Table of Content
1. infringement of registered trademarks. (Para 1 , 3 , 4)
2. urgent need for an injunction. (Para 2 , 6)
3. claims of deceptive similarity. (Para 7 , 8 , 9)
4. counterarguments regarding trademark use. (Para 10)
5. court’s prima facie findings. (Para 11 , 12)
6. balance of convenience for injunction. (Para 13)
7. final order and next steps. (Para 14 , 15 , 16 , 17)

ORDER

[VIA VIDEO CONFERENCING]

I.A. 8152/2021 (u/S 135(2) of the TRADE MARKS ACT , 1999 r/w Order 39 Rules 1 & 2 and Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure)

1. The Plaintiff-Delhi Public School Society has filed the accompanying suit inter-alia for infringement of copyright and registered trademark-`Delhi Public School' and `DPS' and crest logo [].

2. Counsel for the Defendants have entered appearance. They say that they have recently been served a copy of the plaint and would like to file a reply to the instant application. However, Mr. Puneet Mittal, learned Senior Counsel for the Plaintiff, presses for an injunction. Mr. Mittal submits that admissions in the Defendant School are in progress and therefore, if Defendants are not restrained by way of an injunction, parents and students are likely to be misled and deceived, causing irreparable injury to the Plaintiff.

3. The case as set out in the plaint is that the Plaintiff-Society is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, with an object to establish progressive schools or other educational institutions in Delhi or outside Delhi. In the year 1948, it adopted a distinctive crest device-[], which comprises of a hand holding a torch (mashaal) along with school motto `Service Before Self' and words `Delhi Public School' written inside a shield device with other distinctive artistic features comprised therein.

4. In the year 1996-97, Plaintiff-Society conceived and adopted another crest logo [] comprising of a torch (mashaal) on a book along with the school motto `Service Before Self' written inside a shield device surrounded by creepers and the words `Delhi Public School' written at the bottom with other distinctive artistic features comprised therein. It is claimed that both the above-said crests are original artistic works, and the Plaintiff is the first owner of the same under the provisions of the COPYRIGHT ACT , 1957. The Plaintiff has established its schools at various places in India. Schools established by the Plaintiff-Society itself are described as "Core Schools" which are 12 in number. Plaintiff-Society has entered into agreements with other societies/trusts for establishing schools at various places known as "Affiliated Schools" that are more than 200 in number. A list of "Core Schools" of the Plaintiff-Society is provided in para 6 of the plaint. On account of continuous, extensive, voluminous, and open use of the trade marks/names-`Delhi Public School', its acronym-`DPS' and the crest/logo [] since 1948 and the crest/logo [] since 1996-97, the aforesaid trade marks have been perceived by students, parents and academicians, throughout the country as an indication of source of the Plaintiff-Society and they have become un-paralleled benchmarks of academic excellence, goodwill and reputation enjoyed by the Plaintiff.

5. The details of trade marks, registered in favour of the Plaintiff-Society are mentioned in para 8 of the plaint and the same are reproduced as under:

S. No.	Trade Mark	Application	Class	User	Date of Application	Status
1	1608946	16	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
2		1608947	35	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
3		1608948	36	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
4		1608949	41	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
5		1608950	42	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
6	DPS	1608951	16	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
7	DPS	1608952	35	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
8	DPS	1608954	42	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
9	DPS	1608955	36	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Registered
10	DPS	1608953	41	1.12.1948	08.10.2007	Pending
11	DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL	211505	16	1.12.1948	08.03.2011	Pending
12	DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL	2111506	36	1.12.1948	08.03.2011	Pending
13	DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL	2111507	35	1.12.194