The High Court at Madras disposed of an application filed by ITC Limited to combine causes of action regarding trademark, copyright, and passing off in a single suit (A. No. 9081 of 2018).
Permission to combine causes of action granted implicitly by disposing of the application.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION)
MONDAY, THE 6TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2021
THE HON'BLE JUSTICE N. ANAND VENKATESH
A. No.9081 of 2018 and
C.S. No.795 of 2018 (Comm.Suit)
ITC Limited,
No.760, Anna Salai, Chennai-600 002 rep. by its Constituted Attorney, Mr.P.Ramkumar
...Plaintiff/Applicant
-Versus-
Plot No.65, Vorla Shankaramma Colony, Kapra, Secunderabad, Telangana-500 062.
H. No.4-190/31,
Near 5th Avenue Baklery, Bhaskara Rao Nagar, Sainikpuri, Hyderabad, Telangana-500 094.
14-3, Everest Nagar, Ward No.3, Khalwara, Katni, Madhya Pradesh-483 501 ....Defendants/Respondent C.S. No.795 of 2018 (Comm.Suit)
Civil suit praying that this Hon'ble court be pleased to grant a judgment and
decree on the following terms:-
a. A permanent injunction restraining the Defendants No. 1-6, themselves, its
proprietor/directors/partners and other unknown persons as the case may be, successors-in-business, servants, agents, distributors, dealers, stockists, shop keepers,
wholesalers, retailers, representatives, assigns and all other persons claiming through or under them from infringing the registered trademark AASHIRVAAD of the
Plaintiff by manufacturing, selling and/or distributing atta/flour products under identical mark AASHIRVAAD or any other similar or identical mark and in any
other manner whatsoever;
b. a permanent injunction restraining the Defendants No. 1-6, themselves, its proprietor/directors/partners and other unknown persons as the case may be, successors-in-business, servants, agents, distributors, dealers, stockists, shop keepers, wholesalers, retailers, representatives, assigns and all other persons claiming through
or under them from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale and/or distributing https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/
atta/flour products which would amount to passing off their flour products / food
products as and for the Plaintiff's flour products by using an identical artistic work or any other trade mark / trade dress deceptively similar to the Plaintiff's AASHIRVAAD SUPERIOR MP ATTA Package in get up, lay out and arrangement of features or in any other manner whatsoever;
c. a permanent injunction restraining the Defendants No. 1-6, themselves, its proprietor/directors/partners and other unknown persons as the case may be, successors-in-business, servants, agents, distributors, dealers, stockists, shop keepers, wholesalers, retailers, representatives, assigns and all other persons claiming through or under them from manufacturing, selling, and/or distributing atta/flour products under identical mark/ label from committing acts of copyright infringement by
copying the plaintiff's copyright in the artistic work of AASHIRVAAD SUPERIOR MP ATTA package labels by use of an identical labels, colour scheme, get up and placement of features or any other label similar or identical thereto and in any other
manner whatsoever;
d. The Defendants be ordered to surrender to the Plaintiff for destruction all
labels, cartons, containers, packaging materials, blocks, dyes, prints, screen prints, notices, pamphlets, advertisements, hoardings, and other promotional materials
https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ bearing the mark and packaging/label which is identical to the Plaintiff's registered
trademark AASHIRVAAD and the Plaintiff's AASHIRVAAD SUPERIOR MP
ATTA label;
e. The Defendants be ordered to pay to the Plaintiff a sum of Rs. 10,00,000/- as
damages for committing acts of infringement of trademark, infringement of copyright
and passing off;
f. a preliminary decree be passed in favour of the Plaintiff directing the
Defendants to render true and faithful account of profits earned by them by use of the
Impugned Packages and final decree be passed in favour of the Plaintiff for the
amount of profits thus found to have been made by the Defendants, after the latter
have rendered accounts;
g. for entire costs of the suit.
A. No. 9081 of 2018
Application praying that this Hon'ble Court be pleased to grant permission to the applicant to combine the caused of action in respect of infringement
of trade mark, infringement of copyright and passing off together in a single suit.
This Civil suit alongwith Application coming on this day before this
https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservi court for hearing, the Court made the following order: ces/ -
This application was already ordered on 29.11.2018 and accordingly, this
application is disposed of.
Sd/-NAVJ 06.12.2021
//Certified to be true copy// Dated at Madras this the day of 2021.
COURT OFFICER(O.S.)
From 25th Day of September 2008 the Registry is issuing certified copies of the Orders/Judgments/Decrees in this format. PS 14/12/2021
ITC Limited
Thathireddy Indra Reddy
P.Anjaneyullu
Rahul Mishra
N. Anand Venkatesh
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
