* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment Reserved on : 3^rd February, 2023 Judgment Delivered on : 23^rd February, 2023 + CS(COMM) 309/2022, I.A. 8856/2022(O-XI R-1(4) of CPC), I.A.

9750/2022(O-XI R-1(10) of CC Act), I.A. 12468/2022(u/s 124 of Trade Mark Act) and I.A. 19036/2022(O-XI R-1(4) of CPC)

ASTRAL LTD ..... Plaintiff Through: Mr.Sachin Gupta, Ms. Yashi Agrawal and Mr.Lokesh Dhaka, Advocates.

versus ASHIRVAD PIPES PVT LTD ..... Defendant Through: Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Senior Advocate with Mr. Prashant Gupta, Ms. Neelakshi Bhadauria, Mr. Amer Vaid and Mr. Karan Singh, Advocates CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL

JUDGMENT

AMIT BANSAL, J.

I.A. 7334/2022 (O-XXXIX R-1 & 2 of the CPC)

1. By way of the present judgment, I shall decide the application filed on behalf of the plaintiff under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) for grant of interim injunction.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE SUIT

2. Summons in the suit was issued on 11^th May, 2022. However, no ad interim injunction order was passed in favour of the plaintiff. Thereafter, the matter was listed on various dates and pleadings have been completed in the suit as well as the present application. I.A. 7334/2022 was heard on 3^rd Signature Not Verified February, 2023, when the judgment was reserved and counsels were given time to file written submissions. Both the sides have filed their respective brief notes of submissions.

CASE SET UP IN THE PLAINT

3. The case set up in the plaint is as under:

3.1 Plaintiff company was incorporated on 25^th March, 1996 as a private limited company and in the year 2006, the plaintiff company was converted into a public limited company.

3.2 Plaintiff company is engaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing and selling of high-quality pipes, parts and fittings for use in plumbing, sewage, drainage, fire protection and the like. The plaintiff company has manufacturing facilities at six locations in India and has received various awards and accolades in respect of its various products.

3.3 In the year 2004, the plaintiff company became the first entity to launch Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC) piping systems in India.

3.4 The plaintiff has filed and obtained various registrations in respect of the mark ‘CPVC PRO’ and ‘CPVC PRO’ formative trademarks, which are detailed in paragraph 15 of the plaint.

3.5 Some of the registrations of the plaintiff have a disclaimer that no exclusive rights have been granted in respect of the words ‘CPVC PRO’ and ‘CPVC CHEM PRO’. However, the subsequent registrations do not have this condition. Some of the applications Signature Not Verified filed on behalf of the plaintiff in respect of ‘CPVC PRO’ and ‘CPVC PRO’ formative marks have been objected to.

3.6 Plaintiff has engaged various celebrities and superstars from time to time to advertise their products under the aforesaid trademarks.

3.7 The statement in respect of domestic sales and exports of the plaintiff have been provided in paragraph 20 of the plaint. In the year 2021– 2022, the sales of the plaintiff in respect of the trademarks ‘CPVC PRO’ was around Rs.954 crores.

3.8 On account of its superior quality, continuous and extensive use, and large scale publicity, the plaintiff’s trademark ‘CPVC PRO’ has acquired immense reputation and goodwill in the market. Accordingly, the plaintiff claims both statutory as well as common law rights in the trademark ‘CPVC PRO’.

3.9 Defendant has also filed various trademark applications in respect of similar products which are pending as on date. The grievance of the plaintiff is with regard to the impugned mark ‘CPVC FLOWPRO’, wherein ‘CPVC’ and ‘PRO’ are being used together and the same is similar to the trademark of the plaintiff, ‘CPVC PRO’.

3.10 The trademark application of the defendant was filed in January, 2021, on a „proposed to be used basis‟, whereas the plaintiff has been using the ‘CPVC PRO’ marks since 2016. In this regard, invoices have been placed on record by the plaintiff.

3.11 Th