Six appeals filed against an interlocutory order granting interim injunctions restraining infringement of trademarks and copyright in a passing-off action. The court upheld the trial court's decision.
The inter-appellate orders were dismissed; the general applications were closed.
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
DATED: 08.09.2021
CORAM :
THE HON'BLE MR.SANJIB BANERJEE, CHIEF JUSTICE
AND
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE P.D.AUDIKESAVALU
O.S.A. (CAD) Nos.32 to 37 of 2021
Royal Welding Wires Private Limited No.2, Uthiramerur Road Malaiyapalayam P.O. Mathuranthagam Taluk Kanchipuram District – 603303 Tamil Nadu.
.. Appellant in all appeals
Vs.
V.N.C.Electrodes No.3, Industrial Estate S.Vellalapatti, Karur – 639 004 T.N.Administrative Office at 11/4 MRC Nagar, Raja Annamalai Puram Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600 028 A registered partnership firm rep. by its Managing Partner, C.Basker
.. Respondent in all appeals
Prayer: Appeals under Section 13(1) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 read with Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the common order dated 23.4.2021 made in O.A.Nos.533, 532, 535, 530, 534 and 531 of 2020 in C.S.No.285 of 2020.
Application has been filed under XIV, Rule 8 of O.S Rules Read with order XXXIX, Rules 1 &2 of CPC, read with the commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellant Division of High Court Act 2015, Praying
OA No.533 of 2020
To Grant an Interim Injunction restraining the Respondent/Defendant its men, relatives, servants, agents or anyone claiming through or under them from, in any manner infringing the Applicant/Plaintiffs Trademark BEST WELD written
in a styized manner using such offending trademark or in any way deceptively similat to or a colourable imitation of the Applicant/Plaintiff Trademark or any other brand name/mark or otherwise until such period that the Applicant/Plaintiffs trademark is valid and subsisting pending disposal of the suit.
OA No.532 of 2020
To Grant an Interim Injunction restraining the Respondent/Defendant its men, relatives, servants, agents or anyone claiming through or under them from, in any manner infringing the Applicant/Plaintiffs Trademark BEST ARC using such offending trademark or any other mark or marks which are identical/similar or in any way deceptively similar to or a colourable imitation of the Applicant/ Plaintiff Trademark or any other brand name/mark or otherwise until such period that the Applicant/Plaintiffs trademark is valid and subsisting pending disposal of the suit.
OA No.535 of 2020
To grant an interim injunction restraining the Respondent/Defendant, its men, relatives, servants, agents or anyone claiming through or under them from, in any manner Passing off of the Respondent/Defendant composite lable along with the red and rose colour combination as and for of the Applicant/Plaintiff trade mark lable, containing the word BEST WELD or BEST ARC alone or with the marks in a specialized manner with an image in between the words BEST and WELD or BEST and ARC as the case may be device of a man with his arms spread out and an arc drawn from one hand to the other, in colour scheme, get up fant and layout, using the offending trade mark or any other mark which is identical to or deceptiv
OA No.530 of 2020
To Grant a Interim Injunction restraining the Respondent/Defendant, its men, relatives, servants, agents or anyone claiming through or under them from, in any manner infringing the copyight pertaining to the artistic work comprised in the carton filed as Material Object NO.1, from using the offending carton filed as Materil Object No.2 or any other colour combination/ essential features which are similat to or in any way deceptively similar or the colourable imitation of the Applicants/ Plaintiffs carton pending disposal of the suit.
OA No.534 of 2020
To Grant an Interim Injunction restraining the Respondent/Defendant its men, relatives, servants, agents or anyone claiming through or under them from, in any manner infringing the Applicant/Plaintiffs Trademark VNC using such offending trademark or any other mark or marks which are similar
or in any way deceptively similar to or a colourable imitation of the Applicant/Plaintiffs Trademark or any other brand name/mark or otherwise until such period that the Applicant/Plaintiffs trademark is valid and subsisting pending disposal of the suit.
OA No.531 of 2020
To Grant a Interim injunction restraining the respondent/defendant from either by manufacturing or selling of offering for sale or in any manner advertising the Applicants/Plaintiffs trade marks on welding electrodes, Arc welding electrodes, Automatic and Semi Automatic welding equipment being the goods covered by the Applicant/Plaintiffs registration and also being the goods manufactured and sold by the Defendant pending disposal of the suit.
For the Appellant : Mr.M.S.Bharath in all Cases
For the Respondent in all Cases
: Mr.T.K.Ramkumar
COMMON JUDGMENT
(Delivered by the Hon'ble Chief Justice)
The six appeals arise out of a common interlocutory order in a rolled-up infringement and passing-off action. To boot, infringement of copyright has also been complained of in the suit.
suitor is that the defendant was purporting to filch the trade of the plaintiff in marketing and selling the goods or services in a manner where the purchaser thereof would be deceived into thinking that he was availing of the plaintiff's goods or services when it was actually the defendant's.
the plaintiff's and gives an impression that the two may be the same or emanating from the same source. Once such element of possible confusion is noticed, injunction will issue, subject to the other relevant considerations which need to be taken into account.
There will be no order as to costs.
Assistant Registrar(CS IV)
//True Copy//
Sub Assistant Registrar
bbr
To:
The Sub Assistant Registrar Original Side High Court, Madras.
O.S.A. (CAD) Nos.32 to 37 of 2021
NR(CO) CT(21/09/2021)
3 issues framed by the court
Whether the interim injunctions granted by the trial court restraining trademark infringement and passing off are correct in law.
Whether the overall impression test for packaging similarity justifies the issuance of an injunction.
Whether the lower court erred in granting injunctions based on the visual similarity of packaging get-up and color scheme.
2 provisions across 2 enactments
Royal Welding Wires Private Limited
V.N.C. Electrodes
Sanjeeb Banerjee
P.D. Audikesavalu
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
