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2024 Supreme(Online)(DEL) 9498
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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Reserved on: 11th October, 2023 Date of decision: 9th February, 2024 + C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 179/2023 THE HERSHEY COMPANY ….. Petitioner Through: Mr. Urfee Roomi, Ms. Apoorva Bharati, Ms. Anuja Chaudhury, Mr. Ritesh Kumar, Mr. Anubhav Chhabra & Ms. Radhika Arora, Advs. (M:
9811600017)
versus DILIP KUMAR BACHA, TRADING AS SHREE GANESH NAMKEEN & ANR ….. Respondents Through: Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC, with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat and Mr.
Alexander Mathai Paikaday, Advs.
Mr. Rajshekhar Rao, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Kapil Wadhwa, Mr. R. V. Yogesh, Ms. Sindoora VNL, Ms. Vishakha Gupta, Ms Twinkle Rathi, Mr. K. V. Pawan Kumar, Ms. Tejasvini Puri, & Ms. Vasanthi Hariharan, Advocates. (M:
9533864588)
WITH + C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 778/2022 and I.A. 20333/2022 KOHINOOR SEED FIELDS INDIA PVT LTD ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Adarsh Ramanujan, Ms. Sulekha Agarwal, Ms. Soumya Singh, Mr. Saurav Agarwal, Mr. Shantanu Agarwal & Mr. Skanda Shekhar, Advs. (M: 8860193982)
versus VEDA SEED SCIENCES PVT. LTD. & ANR. ..... Respondents Through: Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC, with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat and Mr. Alexander Mathai Paikaday, Advs.
(M: 9810788606)
Mr. Rajshekhar Rao, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Kapil Wadhwa, Mr. R. V. Yogesh, Ms. Sindoora VNL, Ms. Vishakha Gupta, Ms Twinkle Rathi, Mr. K. V. Pawan Kumar, Ms. Tejasvini Puri, & Ms.
Vasanthi Hariharan, Advocates.
WITH + C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 782/2022 and I.A. 20524/2022 KOHINOOR SEED FIRLDS INDIA PVT LTD ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Adarsh Ramanujan, Ms. Sulekha Agarwal, Ms. Soumya Singh, Mr. Saurav Agarwal, Mr. Shantanu Agarwal & Mr. Skanda Shekhar, Advs. versus VEDA SEED SCIENCES PVT LTD & ANR. ..... Respondents Through: Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC, with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat and Mr.
Alexander Mathai Paikaday, Advs.
Mr. Rajshekhar Rao, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Kapil Wadhwa, Mr. R. V. Yogesh, Ms. Sindoora VNL, Ms. Vishakha Gupta, Ms Twinkle Rathi, Mr. K. V. Pawan Kumar, Ms. Tejasvini Puri, & Ms.
Vasanthi Hariharan, Advocates.
WITH + C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 783/2022 KOHINOOR SEED FIELDS INDIA PVT LTD ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Adarsh Ramanujan, Ms. Sulekha Agarwal, Ms. Soumya Singh, Mr.
Saurav Agarwal, Mr. Shantanu Agarwal & Mr. Skanda Shekhar, Advs. versus VEDA SEED SCIENCES PVT LTD & ANR. ..... Respondents Through: Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC, with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat and Mr.
Alexander Mathai Paikaday, Advs.
Mr. Rajshekhar Rao, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Kapil Wadhwa, Mr. R. V. Yogesh, Ms. Sindoora VNL, Ms. Vishakha Gupta, Ms Twinkle Rathi, Mr. K. V. Pawan Kumar, Ms. Tejasvini Puri, & Ms.
Vasanthi Hariharan, Advocates.
AND + C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 151/2022 LIBERTY FOOTWEAR COMPANY ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Kapil Wadhwa, Ms. Surya Rajappan, Ms. Tejasvini Puri & Ms. Vasanthi Hariharan, Advs. (M:
9891929028)
versus LIBERTY INDUSTRIAL GROUP PTE LTD. & ANR... Respondents Through: Mr. Gautam Wadhwa, Adv. for R-1.
(M: 9871444784)
Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC, with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat and Mr.
Alexander Mathai Paikaday, Advs.
Advocates assisting the Court:
Mr. Alankar Kirpekar and Mr. Arun C Mohan, Amicus Curiae Mr. Vaibhav Vutts, Mr. Aditya Gupta and Mr. Nikhil Sharma, Advocates.
CORAM:
JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUDGMENT
Prathiba M. Singh, J.
Background
1. The present batch of matters highlight a significant issue that has come to the attention of this Court concerning its jurisdiction to consider rectification/cancellation petitions under Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (hereinafter ‘the 1999 Act’), following the enactment of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021.
2. In the present batch, there are a total of five rectification petitions filed under Section 57 of the 1999 Act:
• C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 151/2022, • C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 778/2022, • C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 782/2022, • C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 783/2022, • C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 179/2023
3. A brief background of the petitions is captured as follows:
| C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM)-151/2022: Liberty Footwear Co. v. Liberty Industrial Group Pte Ltd. | |
| Impugned mark | ‘LIBERTY STEEL’ (device mark) TM Application No. 3559438 dated 29th May, 2017 |
| Appropriate Office of the impugned mark | Mumbai |
| Respondent’s place of Singapore |
| business | |
| Petitioner’s place of business | Registered Address: Karnal, Haryana Also at: Punjabi Bagh West, New Delhi |
| C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM)-778/2022: M/s. Kohinoor Seeds Fields India Pvt. Ltd. v. M/s. Veda Sciences Pvt. Ltd. | |
| Impugned mark | ‘VEDA BASANT GOLD’ (device mark), TM Application No. 5078923 dated 7th August, 2021 |
| Appropriate Office of the impugned mark | Chennai. |
| Respondent No. 1’s place of business | Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. |
| Petitioner’s place of business | Registered Office in Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi |
| C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM)-782/2022: M/s. Kohinoor Seeds Fields India Pvt. Ltd. v. M/s. Veda Sciences Pvt. Ltd. | |
| Impugned mark | ‘VEDA TADAAKHA GOLD’ (device mark) TM Application: 5078922 dated 7th August, 2021 |
| Appropriate Office of the impugned mark | Chennai. |
| Respondent No. 1’s place of business | Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. |
| Petitioner’s place of business | Registered Office in Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi |
| C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM)- 783/2022: M/s. Kohinoor Seeds Fields India Pvt. Ltd. v. M/s. Veda Sciences Pvt. Ltd. |
| Impugned mark | ‘VEDA SADANAND GOLD’ (device mark) TM Application: 5078921 dated 7th August, 2021 |
| Appropriate Office of the impugned mark | Chennai. |
| Respondent No. 1’s place of business | Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. |
| Petitioner’s place of business | Registered Office in Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi |
| C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 179/2023: The Hershey Co. v. Dilip Kumar Bacha, Trading as Shree Ganesh Namkeen | |
| Impugned mark | ‘HARSHY’ (device mark) TM Application No. 3897902 dated 25th July, 2018 |
| Appropriate Office | Mumbai |
| Respondent’s place of business | Cat Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh |
| Petitioner’s place of business | Pennsylvania, U.S.A. |
4. A brief background of these petitions is that in C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM)
151/2022, on 22nd December, 2022, notice was issued to the Liberty Industrial Group Pte. Ltd. Thereafter, on 18th July, 2023, this petition was directed to be listed before this Court on 20th July, 2023 along with C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM)
778/2022.
5. In C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 778/2022, C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 782/2022, notice was issued to Veda Seed Sciences Pvt. Ltd. on 6th December, 2022. In C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 783/2022, notice was issued on 5th January, 2023 to Veda Seed Sciences Pvt. Ltd. Thereafter, vide order dated 12th July, 2023, the above rectification petitions were directed to be listed along with C.O.(COMM.IPD-TM) 179/2023.
6. In C.O.(COMM.IPD-TM) 179/2023, vide order dated 5th July, 2023, this Court issued notice to the Respondent-single proprietorship concern, therein, i.e. Dilip Kumar Bacha trading as Shree Ganesh Namkeen. While issuing notice in the said rectification petition, this Court posed a query to the ld. Counsel appearing for the Petitioner, regarding the maintainability of the petition before this Court, as the Appropriate office of the Trade Marks Registry in terms of Rule 4 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 (hereinafter, ‘2017 Rules’) for the subject mark therein being ‘HARSHY’, is the Office of the Tr
