Allowed

M/s. Matrimony.Com Ltd., v. Karthikeyan

Madras HC19 Nov 2018CS/525/2018

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The court decreed a trademark infringement suit based on a compromise memorandum wherein the defendant undertook to cease using the identical mark and similar domain name, allowing the plaintiff to withdraw remaining relief claims.

What did the court decide?

The suit was decreed in terms of the Memorandum of Compromise; defendant to cease using the mark and domain, plaintiff to withdraw claims for damages and account of profits.

M/s. Matrimony.Com Ltd., Vs Karthikeyan — Madras HC (2018) — LawSathi Research

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

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Dated: 19.11.2018

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CORAM

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THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR

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C.S.No.525 of 2018 and O.A.Nos.718 to 720 of 2018 M/s.Matrimony.com Limited., No.94, TVH Beliciaa Towers, Tower -2, 10 th Floor, MRC Nagar, Mandaveli, Chennai – 600 028. Represented by its General Manager – Legal & Regulatory Mr.S.Ravichandran ..Plaintiff Vs. Mr.Karthikeyan, No.2, 50 Feet Road, Sellur, Madurai – 625 002. .. Defendant

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This Civil Suit is preferred, under Order IV Rule 1 O.S. Rules Read with Order VII Rule 1 CPC, Sections 27, 28, 29, 134 & 135 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and Section 7 of The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, No 4 of 2016, praying to

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a) Grant a permanent injunction restraining the defendant, by themselves, their directors, partners, men, servants, agents, broadcasters, representatives, advertisers, franchisees, licensees and/or all other persons acting on their behalf from in any manner infringing and/or enabling others to infringe plaintiff's registered trademarks TAMIL MATRIMONY and/or its variants by using the identical trademark RAJA TAMIL MATRIMONY as part of the SEO headline, in the Google ad-text or as a keyword for internet search

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http://www.judis.nic.in

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or as meta tag in any other manner whatsoever;

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b) Grant a permanent injunction restraining the defendant, by themselves, their directors, partners, men, servants, agents, broadcasters, representatives, advertisers, franchisees, licensees and/or all other persons acting on their behalf from in any manner diverting the plaintiff's business to themselves by using Google's search engine in which the plaintiff's trademark TAMIL MATRIMONY and domain name TAMILMATRIMONY.COM and/or its variants, by using as Adwords, keyword Suggestion Tool, as part of SEO headline or as a keyword for the internet search and/or as meta tags and thereby passing off the business and services of the defendant as that of the plaintiff or in any other manner whatsoever;

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c) Grant a permanent injunction restraining the defendant, themselves, their partners, successors-in-business, servants, agents, representatives, assigns and all other persons claiming under them and through them from using or redirecting to the domain name www.rajatamilmatrimony.com or any other domain name that is identical and/or deceptively similar to that of the plaintiff's domain name www.tamilmatrimony.com in any manner whatsoever;

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d) Direct the defendants to surrender to the plaintiff for destruction all compact discs, master copy, advertising materials, pamphlets, brochures, etc, which bears the plaintiff's registered trademarks and/or any other variants which phonetically and/or deceptively identical and/or similar to the plaintiff's registered trademarks or in any other form whatsoever;

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e) award damages of Rs.10,00,000/- for infringing and/or for passing off and/or for enabling others to infringe and/or pass off the plaintiff's trademarks and domain names;

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f) a preliminary decree be passed in favour of the plaintiff directing the defendant to render account of profits made by use of trademark RAJA

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http://www.judis.nic.in

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TAMILMATRIMONY and final decree be passed in favour of the plaintiff for the amount of profits thus found to have been made by the defendant, after the latter have rendered accounts;

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g) for costs, of the suit; and

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h) Pass such further and other orders and issue directions, as this Court may deem fit and necessary in the circumstances of the case and thus render justice.

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For Plaintiff : Mr.Arun C.Mohan
For Defendant : Mr.Anil Relwani
JUDGMENT
There is a sole plaintiff and a lone defendant in this suit. Sole

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plaintiff is a Public Limited Company and is therefore a juristic person. Lone defendant is an individual i.e., a natural person by name Mr.Karthikeyan.

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Mr.Arun C.Mohan, learned counsel on record for sole plaintiff and Mr.Anil Relwani, learned counsel on record for sole defendant are before this Commercial Division.

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To be noted, this suit is listed today under the caption 'FOR REPORTING SETTLEMENT AND RECORDING MEMORANDUM OF COMPROMISE'.

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http://www.judis.nic.in

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Both the aforesaid learned counsel submit that this suit has been

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settled between the parties to the lis and the sole plaintiff and the lone defendant have entered into a 'Memo of Compromise, dated 25.10.2018' ('said MOC' for brevity).

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Said MOC has been placed before me.

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Both learned counsel make a common joint request in unison that

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this suit itself may please be decreed in terms of said MOC.

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With regard to presence of the parties to this lis, learned counsel

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for plaintiff submits that Mr.S.Ravichandran, who is General Manager – Legal & Regulatory of the plaintiff company, who has signed the said MOC, is traveling and is therefore unable to be present before this Commercial Division today. Likewise, counsel for lone defendant submits that lone defendant is encountering some difficulty in traveling from Madurai, owing

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to some personal inconvenience and is therefore unable to be present before this Commercial Division today. However, both learned counsel confirm that said MOC was signed by both parties to the lis i.e., sole plaintiff (sole plaintiff's representative) and lone defendant in the presence

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of one another and in the presence of their respective counsel, who have also signed the said MOC. Saying so, both learned counsel made a request

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http://www.judis.nic.in

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that this Commercial Division may please dispense with personal presence

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of the said parties before this Commercial Division for recording said MOC.

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Considering the undisputed position between both counsel before

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me that said MOC was signed by both parties in the presence of one another and their respective counsel and also taking into account the reasons that have been adduced for their inability to be present before this Commercial Division, viewed in the light of the nature of this lis, I deem it appropriate, to accede to the request for dispensing with their presence. This is more so,

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in the light of the innocuous nature of said MOC.

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To be noted, said MOC reads as follows:

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The plaintiff and the defendants humbly beg to submit as follows:-

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1.The terms “Plaintiff” and “defendant” shall mean and include their partners, directors, heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns of each party.

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2.The defendant has undertaken to cease using the mark RAJATAMILMATRIMONY and the domain name www.rajatamilmatrimony.com with respect to its online matrimonial services. The defendant further confirms that the domain name www.rajatamilmatrimony.com has been changed and is no longer functional. The defendant further undertakes to refrain from using, domain name mentioned above or any domain name which is similar to the plaintiff's domain name www.tamilmatrimony.com with respect to online matrimonial

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http://www.judis.nic.in

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service, the Google playstoreapplication(APP)with URL, .com.rajtamilmatrimony.com.rajatamilmatrimony or any other APP name which is similar to that of plaintiff's App or any other related services similar to that of the plaintiff's. 3.The defendant further undertakes to remove the URL, www.rajatamilmatrimony.com from Google search.

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4.In view of the above, the defendant submits to a judgment and decree as prayed for in terms of prayers (a), (b) and (c) in para 23 of the plaint, as follows;

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a) a permanent injunction restraining the defendant, by themselves, their directors, partners, men, servants, agents, broadcasters, representatives, advertisers, franchisees, licensees and/or all other persons acting on their behalf from in any manner infringing and/or enabling others to infringe plaintiff's registered trademarks TAMIL MATRIMONY and/or its variants by using the identical trademark RAJA TAMIL MATRIMONY as part of the SEO headline, in the Google ad-text or as a keyword for internet search or as meta tag in any other manner whatsoever;

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b) a permanent injunction restraining the defendant, by themselves, their directors, partners, men, servants, agents, broadcasters, representatives, advertisers, franchisees, licensees and/or all other persons acting on their behalf from in any manner diverting the plaintiff's business to themselves by using Google's search engine in which the plaintiff's trademark TAMIL MATRIMONY and domain name TAMILMATRIMONY.COM and/or its variants, by using as Adwords, keyword Suggestion Tool, as part of SEO headline or as a keyword for the internet search and/or as meta tags and thereby passing off the business and services of the defendant as that of the plaintiff or in any other manner whatsoever;

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c) a permanent injunction restraining the

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http://www.judis.nic.in

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defendant, themselves, their partners, successors-inbusiness, servants, agents, representatives, assigns and all other persons claiming under them and through them from using or redirecting to the domain name www.rajatamilmatrimony.com or any other domain name that is identical and/or deceptively similar to that of the plaintiff's domain name www.tamilmatrimony.com in any

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manner whatsoever;

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5.Further, in view of the above undertaking, the plaintiff agrees to give up other reliefs sought by them in para 23(d), (e), (f) and (g) of the plaint as against the defendant subject to the conditions as aforesaid.

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6.The parties shall bear their own costs.

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Dated at Chennai on this the 25^th day of October 2018.'

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This suit is decreed in terms of said MOC which has been

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reproduced supra. Said MOC shall form part of the compromise decree.

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Suit is decreed on above terms. Consequently, all interlocutory

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applications are closed. There shall be no order as to costs.

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19.11.2018

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Speaking order/Non-Speaking Order

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Index : Yes/No

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vsm/mp

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http://www.judis.nic.in

M.SUNDAR, J.

vsm/mp

C.S.No.525 of 2018
and O.A.Nos.718 to 720 of 2018

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19.11.2018

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http://www.judis.nic.in

M/s. Matrimony.Com Ltd., v. Karthikeyan

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

M/s. Matrimony.Com Ltd., v. Karthikeyan

Case brief

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