Trademark infringement and passing off granted as Plaintiff established extensive goodwill and unauthorized use by Defendants led to significant damages.

ORDER

Prathiba M. Singh, J.

I.A.7497/2021 (for stay)

1. Vide order dated 6th October, 2021, the interim injunction already granted was made absolute.

2. Status quo in respect of the domain name being `www.frankfinncreations.com' shall be maintained during the pendency of the suit.

3. Accordingly, I.A.7497/2021 is disposed of.

CS (COMM) 292/2021 & I.A.8404/2021 (u/O XXXIX Rule 2A CPC)

4. The present suit has been filed by the Plaintiff - Frankfinn Aviation Services Private Limited seeking permanent and mandatory injunction restraining the infringement of the trademark `FRANKFINN', passing off, acts of unfair competition, dilution, rendition of accounts, damages, delivery up and other reliefs, against the Defendant No.1 - M/s. Frankfinn Creations- which is a sole proprietary concern run by Defendant No.2 - Mr. Manoj Kumar.

5. The Plaintiff is engaged in the field of imparting training in the field of aviation, hospitality, travel management and customer services. It is the case of the Plaintiff that it is the original owner, adopter and user of the mark `FRANKFINN'. As per the Plaint, the mark `FRANKFINN' was coined and adopted in India in the year 1980 and is also a registered trademark of the Plaintiff in various Classes, including Class 35, 37, 16 & 41, both in logo form and word mark form. The persons, who have obtained training from the Plaintiff, are stated to be obtaining the highest placements in various entities. Thus, the Plaintiff has received commendations for having one of the highest track records in placements.

6. The flagship website of the Plaintiff is `www.frankfinn.com' where the details of all the services offered by the Plaintiff are accessible. The Plaintiff has also registered various other domain names which have been listed in the Plaint. The Plaintiff claims that the mark `FRANKFINN' has become a well-known trademark as it enjoys the reputation and goodwill in India as also internationally. Reliance is placed upon various articles which have been published by internationally renowned publications such as New York Times, Financial Times UK, BBC, Channel 4, etc. The Plaintiff has various well-known celebrities, who have endorsed and have promoted its brand including Bollywood actress, Ms. Alia Bhatt. The revenues of the Plaintiff have been placed on record which shows that the Plaintiff's turnover for the financial year 2019-20 is to the tune of about Rs.200 crores. The advertisement expenditure of the Plaintiff has been placed on record and a perusal of the same shows that the expenditure in the year 2019 was to the tune of Rs.26 crores.

7. The Plaintiff is aggrieved by the Defendants' use of the mark and name `FRANKFINN CREATIONS' for its event management business. The Defendant Nos.1 & 2 are based in Patna. According to the Plaintiff, they are using the mark `FRANKFINN', both as part of their trading style, trademark, as also, their domain name `www.frankfinncreations.com'. The case of the Plaintiff is that the Defendants' use of the mark is illegal and fraudulent, and such use constitutes infringement of the registered trademark, passing off, unfair competition, and dilution. Accordingly, the Plaintiff has filed the present suit praying for a decree of permanent and mandatory injunction and for damages of Rs.2 crores.

8. Vide order dated 14th June, 2021, an ex parte ad-interim injunction was granted restraining the Defendants from using the mark `FRANKFINN'. The operative portion of the said order reads as under:

"7. The plaintiff has, therefore, disclosed a 'prima facie case' in its favour. The 'balance of convenience' is also in favo