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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
C. Hari Shankar, J.
New Balance Athletics Inc. - Appellant
Versus
Nbstoresinindia.in - Respondent
CS(COMM) 12 of 2022
Decided On : 07-01-2022
Important Points
Subject
Intellectual Property - Trademark Infringement
Headnote
(B) Ex parte ad interim injunction - The court provided interim relief to restrain defendants from using the plaintiff's trademarks and operating deceptive websites, emphasizing protection of consumer interests and trademark rights. (Paras 17, 24)
Facts of the case:
The plaintiff is the proprietor of registered trademarks 'NEW BALANCE' and 'NB', claiming infringement by the defendants through their websites misrepresenting association with the plaintiff, leading to unlawful trade practices.
Findings of Court:
There is a prima facie case of trademark infringement, meriting ex parte ad interim injunction against the defendants.
Issues: The principal issues involve trademark infringement, misrepresentation, and the defendants’ fraudulent activities.
Ratio Decidendi: The court determined that the use of the plaintiff's registered trademarks by the defendants constituted infringement, justifying the ex parte ad interim injunction to protect the plaintiff's marks and prevent consumer deception.
Result: Ex parte ad interim injunction granted against the defendants.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. exemption applications granted (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 2. plaintiff's mark registered; defendants' infringement noted (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 19) |
| 3. interim reliefs sought were analyzed and granted (Para 17 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23) |
| 4. court's orders on interim injunction and restrictions (Para 24) |
| 5. next steps and notice to defendants issued (Para 25 , 26 , 27) |
ORDER
(Video-Conferencing)
I.A. 266/2022 (Section 151 CPC for exemption)
1. This is an application for exemption from filing an apostilled Power of Attorney. For the reasons stated in the application and subject to the plaintiff filing a duly apostilled Power of Attorney, as expeditiously as possible given the present circumstances, exemption is granted for the present.
2. The application is disposed of.
I.A. 267/2022 (Section 12A of Commercial Courts Act, 2015)
3. For the reasons stated in the application, exemption from the requirement of pre-institution mediation is granted.
4. The application is allowed accordingly.
I.A. 265/2022
5. Subject to the plaintiff filing legible copies of any illegible and dim documents on which it may seek to place reliance within a period of four weeks from today, exemption is granted for the present.
6. The application is disposed of.
I.A. 264/2022 [Order XI Rule 1(4)]
7. Subject to the right of the defendants to admit or deny the same, the plaintiff may place additional documents on record within a period four weeks from today.
8. The application is disposed of accordingly.
CS(COMM) 12/2022 & I.A. 263/2022 (Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 CPC)
9. The plaintiff is the proprietor of a mark "NEW BALANCE", used in connection with footwear or readymade clothing. The mark stands registered in favor of the plaintiff under Classes 18 and 25 of the Trademark Rules, 2017. A tabular depiction of the various registrations held by the plaintiff is provided in para 40 of the plaint, thus:
| S.No. | Mark | Reg. No. | Class/es | Registration Date | Renewed Until |
| 1. | NEW BALANCE | 472336 | 25 | May 18, 1987 | May 18, 2028 |
| 2. | NEW BALANCE | 525511 | 18 | March 2, 1990 | March 2, 2024 |
| 3. |  | 472334 | 25 | May 18, 1987 | May 18, 2028 |
| 4. |  | 525286 | 18 | February 27, 1990 | February 27, 2024 |
| 5. |  | 706035 | 18 | May 20, 1996 | May 20, 2026 |
| 6. |  | 1637760 | 25 | January 3, 2008 | January 3, 2028 |
10. The plaintiff has also provided sales figures effected by the plaintiff under the aforesaid marks, which vouchsafe the reputation of the plaintiff and its market standing.
11. Given the nature of the present challenge, it is not necessary to refer any further to the averments in the plaint insofar as the plaintiff's reputation is concerned.
12. The plaintiff is aggrieved by the defendants, on its websites at www.nbshoesindia.com and www.newbalanceindia.co.in, misrepresenting itself as being linked to the plaintiff, to the extent that the defendants are using the plaintiff's registered logo 
.
13. The plaintiff has placed on record screenshots of the websites of the Defendants 1 to 10, which appear thus:
WWW.NBSHOESINDIA.COM and WWW.NB-INDIA.COM
NEWBALANCEINDIA.CO.ININDIA.COM
14. It is clear, from a glance at the aforesaid screenshots, that the defendants are using the plaintiff's logo with the clear intent of representing themselves as linked to the plaintiff.
15. The plaintiff has further submitted that the defendants are resorting to unlawful trade practices as when orders are placed on the defendants' websites, payments are exacted from the persons placing the orders but no goods are provided. The plaintiff claims to have itself suffered one such attempt.
16. Prima facie, a case of infringement of the plaintiff's registered mark and an attempt at misrepresenting the defendants as linked to the plaintiff with the intent of making undue profits and gains at the expense of the consumer public, exists.
17. As such, there is a clear case for grant an ex parte ad interim injunction.
18. The plaintiff has impleaded Defendants 1 to 10 being the websites with which the plaintiff is pres
