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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
MR.JUSTICE SENTHILKUMAR RAMAMOORTHY, J
Apex Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., rep. by its Authorised Signatory, D. Jude F.L.S. Durai Pandian – Appellant
Versus
Macleods Pharmaceuticals Limited – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
(SENTHILKUMAR RAMAMOORTHY, J.)
The plaintiff is the registered proprietor of the trademark BILTEN under trade mark No.4246358 in Class 5. By this suit, the plaintiff seeks to restrain the defendant from infringing its registered trademark by using the trademark BELATIN or any other trademark deceptively similar to the plaintiff's registered trademark and from passing off its products under the trademark BELATIN as the plaintiff's products. In addition, the plaintiff seeks the surrender of infringing material, rendition of accounts and a decree for profits in terms thereof.
The Pleadings
2. In the plaint, the plaintiff asserts that it adopted the trademark BILTEN in or about June 2019, and applied for registration on 25.07.2019 in class 5 for medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations. The plaintiff further states therein that the product contains BILASTINE, as the main ingredient, and consequently is used as an antihistamine. Significantly, it is stated that the product was launched in the market in November 2019 after obtaining the drug licence on 15.10.2019. The monthly sales turnover for November 2019 through July 2020 is set out in paragraph 6 thereof. After stating that
Prior use of a registered trademark grants exclusive rights, and honest concurrent use is not a defense in trademark infringement unless registered.
Point of law: Registration of trademark shall, if valid, give to registered proprietor of trademark exclusive right to use of trademark in relation to goods or services in respect of which trademark ....
The judgment underscores that trademark registration alone does not guarantee protection without actual use, and that delay in action does not preclude injunction if infringement is proven.
Important Point :The use of a trademark that is phonetically and visually similar to a registered trademark can lead to confusion, constituting infringement, especially when dishonest conduct is evid....
The central legal point established in the judgment is the significance of prior use and the principles of honest adoption, delay, and acquiescence in trademark disputes.
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