$~13 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of Decision: 22^nd January, 2026 + C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 258/2024 WILHELMSEN SHIPS SERVICE AS .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Peeyoosh Kalra, Mr. Gaurav Mukherjee and Ms. Saumya Tripathi, Advocates.

versus VISHAL ANAND TRADING AS SBA & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Respondent No. 1 is ex parte.

Ms. Nidhi Raman, CGSC with Mr. Om Ram and Mr. Arnav Mittal, Advocates for R-2.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE JYOTI SINGH

JUDGEMENT

JYOTI SINGH, J. (ORAL)

1. This rectification petition has been filed on behalf of the Petitioner under Sections 47 and 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (‘1999 Act’) for removal of entry in respect of trademark SBA under Registration No.3473533 in Class 22 in the name of Respondent No.1 from the Register of Trade Marks as also for costs of the proceedings.

2. To the extent necessary, facts pleaded in the petition are that Petitioner is one of the largest and most reputed global maritime industry groups engaged in providing high quality sea transportation, integrated logistics solutions, ship agency and bunker services, marine products, cruise and passenger vessel management and also insurance requirements to meet day-to-day operational needs in maritime industry. Petitioner has a distinguished history dating back to over 150 years when it was founded by one Mr. Morten Wilhelm Wilhelmsen in 1861. Petitioner began as a small business venture of ship carriers and has eventually evolved into a leading global maritime industry group with a staggering global presence by way of 241 offices in 57 countries, 11,340 seafarers and 5,316 land-based employees at the end of 2023.

3. It is averred in the petition that Petitioner’s presence in India dates back to 1960 with incorporation of its subsidiary Wilhelmsen Port Services India Private Limited. Petitioner has stock locations/warehouses across Indian coastline which serve global and domestic customer vessels offering an extensive range of products such as marine chemicals, gases and refrigerants, welding equipment and accessories, ropes etc. Petitioner claims to have one of the largest and strongest portfolios of brands such as AQUATUFF, ALKLEEN, COOLTREAT, etc. used in relation to marine solutions and one such quality product is the safest conventional mooring ropes under its flagship brand SBA.

4. It is stated that Petitioner’s product under the mark SBA comprise of energy absorbing core sitting within the rope which absorbs the snap back forces if the load bearing construction breaks and the product mitigates risks to personnel during mooring operations, creating a safer mooring environment. Petitioner’s products under the trademark SBA are a result of laborious process of trial and error with 25 different variations of the system being put through their paces in more than 120 different tests. The products have attained extensive goodwill and reputation globally including India and number of awards/accolades have been received by the Petitioner such as International Safety@Sea Awards, 2020 in Singapore, Maritime Safety Award from the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and Lloyd’s Register for its Smart Ropes system, 2021.

5. It is stated that the trademark SBA is registered in numerous jurisdictions of the world including India and some applications are pending. The earliest registration was obtained in Norway and dates back to 2019 in Classes 06, 17 and 22. Information about the Petitioner and its products under trademark SBA is disseminated among the trade and public through its website www.wilhelmsen.com and is also available and frequently accessed through search engines such as www.google.com, www.yahoo.com, www.msn.com. Petitioner’s popularity and goodwill is evident from global sales figures of its products under trademark SBA for the period 2018 to 2023 which reflect net sales of USD 0.0916 (in million) in 2018 to USD 21.84 (in million) in 2023. Yearwise sales turnover in India has also significantly increased from USD 0.0