S.J. Mukhopadhaya, J.

In these appeals, as common question of law involved and preferred against common judgment, they were heard together and disposed of by this common judgment.

2. Before deciding individual claim and counter claim, including the pleading as was set forth in different plaints, it is desirable to note certain undisputed facts, as shown hereunder:-

S.M. Palaniappa Chettiar, 1st plaintiff in C.S. No.311/97 commenced business sometime in 1940s of publishing Konar Notes for school students through M/s. Palaniappa Brothers, 2nd plaintiff in C.S. No.311/97, a family partnership firm, respondent herein. The author of the book was one Vidwan Ayyan Perumal Konar, a Tamil scholar, assisted by a team of scholars. The notes seems to have popularly come to be knows as "Konar Tamil Urai", i.e., Konar Tamil Notes. For the present, they are publishing "Konar Tamil Urai" for students of classes XI and XII.

M/s. Karthikeyan & Co., 1st defendant in C.S. No.284/97 was established in 1956 as a registered firm under the Indian Partnership Act. It started publishing school books, including Konar Tamil Urai for III to VIII standards.

Konar Publications, plaintiff in C.S. Nos. 2