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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Navin Chawla, J.
Vasundhra Jewellers Pvt. Ltd. - Appellant
Versus
Kirat Vinodbhai Jadvani - Respondent
CS(COMM) 363 of 2022
Decided On : 21-09-2022
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. plaintiff's trademark rights and use (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10) |
| 2. claims of defendant's similarity to plaintiff's mark (Para 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15) |
| 3. plaintiff’s arguments regarding trademark protection (Para 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22) |
| 4. defendant's counterarguments and trademark rights (Para 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30) |
| 5. court's analysis of likelihood of confusion (Para 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43) |
| 6. court's final ruling on injunction (Para 44 , 45 , 46) |
JUDGMENT
I.A. 8515/2022
1. By this application, filed under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (in short, `CPC'), the plaintiff prays for an ad-interim injunction restraining the defendant no. 1, its directors, executives, partners or proprietors, officers, servants and agents or any other persons acting for or on their behalf from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, exporting, advertising, marketing and/or in any manner using, directly or indirectly, in relation to any jewellery/precious stones/gems and/or any other allied and cognate goods/services, including but not limited to textiles, textile goods and fabrics, under the impugned marks/labels/logos/domain name `VASUNDHRA'/
and/or `VASUNDHRA FASHION'/
/https://vasundhra.business'site and/or any other mark identical and/or deceptively similar to the plaintiff's trade marks/labels/logos/domain name `VASUNDHRA'/`VASUNDHRA JEWELLERS'/
, the `VASUNDHRA' family of marks (hereinafter referred to as the `VASUNDHRA Marks')/https://vasundhrajewellers.com/ or doing any other thing amounting to infringement of the plaintiff's registered `VASUNDHRA Marks' as also amounting to passing off, dilution and unfair competition.
2. It is the case of the plaintiff that the plaintiff-company was established on 28.10.1999 and has been continuously and uninterruptedly using the name `VASUNDHRA'/'VASUNDHRA JEWELLERS' both as a trade mark as also a trade name. The plaintiff has its jewellery showroom at Pitampura, New Delhi, where the customers from not only Delhi but also all over India come to shop. The plaintiff asserts that over the years, it has used several iterations of the `VASUNDHRA Marks', including but not limited to 
. The plaintiff is also the registered proprietor of the various trade marks in Classes 14 and 35, the list whereof is given by the plaintiff in its plaint as under:
| Trade Mark and Application No. | Date of Application And User Detail | Class and Specification of Goods and Services | Status | Disclaimer/Condition/Association |
 | Date of Application: 23/05/2003 User Detail: 01/01/1999 | [Class: 14] Jewellery In Precious Metal and Gems. | Registered and Valid Up to: 23/05/2023 | NIL |
 | Date of Application: 22/05/2019 User Detail: 28/10/1999 | [CLASS:14] Precious metals or coated therewith jewellery including imitation jewellery and precious stones. All being goods included in class 14. | Registered and Valid Up to: 22/05/2029 | NIL |
 | Date of Application: 19/12/2017 User Detail: 17/08/2016 | [CLASS: 14] Precious metals or coated therewith jewellery including imitation jewellery and precious stones. All being goods included in class 14. | Registered and Valid Up to: 19/12/2027 | NIL |
3. The plaintiff asserts that by virtue of the abovementioned registrations, the plaintiff has an exclusive right to use the `VASUNDHRA Marks'.
4. The plaintiff further asserts that it has obtained registration for its domain name www.vasundhrajewellers.com on 26.06.2011, and has subsequently obtained registrations in the following domain names:
a. www.vasundhra.com
b. www.vasundhara.com
c. www.vasundhra.in
d. www.Vasundhrajewellers.in
e. www.Vasundhrajewellers.com
f. www.vasundhrajeweller.in
5. The plaintiff also states that it has invested an enormous amount of money and effort in building the brand identity through the promotion of the `VASUNDHRA Marks' through various media, included but not limited to TV, radio and hoardings.
The plaintiff failed to establish exclusive rights over the common name 'VASUNDHRA', resulting in dismissal of the injunction application due to lack of a prima facie case.
The judgment emphasizes that the exclusive right to use a trade mark is limited to what has been registered and cannot extend to common names. It also highlights the importance of distinctiveness, go....
The defendant was entitled to the benefit of defense under Section 35 of the Act as it had been using the mark 'VASUNDHARA' in a bona fide manner since 2001.
The court held that registration of trademarks does not grant exclusive rights over a common or partially generic term, emphasizing the need for distinctiveness to prevent confusion.
In trademark disputes, a plaintiff must establish goodwill to succeed in passing off actions, and demonstrating bona fide use prevails over prior use claims where underlying rights are transferred.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the entitlement of the plaintiff to a permanent injunction for passing off its mark 'SANDHI SUDHA' and the consideration of the defendants' non-rep....
The court affirmed the registered trademark holder's rights against similar marks and clarified standards for proving prior use and confusion under trademark law.
The court established that the rights of the prior user of a trademark are superior to those of a subsequent user, emphasizing the elements of goodwill, misrepresentation, and damage in passing off c....
The impugned marks are deceptively similar to Plaintiff's registered marks, leading to public deception, and the Court passes a summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiff.
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