Friday, September 6, 2013

Ellora Trade Mark Case, AIR 1980 DELHI 254


 

Ellora Industries vs Banarsi Das Goela And Ors. on 19 October, 1979

Equivalent citations: AIR 1980 Delhi 254

Author: A B Rohatgi

Bench: A Rohatgi

JUDGMENT

Avadh Behari Rohatgi, J.

(1) This is a defendants' appeal from the order of the Additional District Judge dated July 10, 1967.

(2) The plaintiffs are a partnership firm carrying on business under the name and style of M/s. Banaras'i Dass and Brothers at Chandni Chowk, Delhi since the year 1949. They are the registered proprietors of the trade mark 'ELORA' registered under number 175751 in class 14 as of the date August , 1956 in respect of watches, time-pieces, clocks and their parts. The trade mark has been renewed from time to time and is subsisting. The plaintiffs have been selling clocks with the trade mark 'ELORA' since 1955.

(3) In October 1962 the plaintiffs found an advertisement issued by the defendants "ELLORA INDUSTRIES" with 'ELLORA' as the trade mark for time-pieces. By a notice in writing dated December 26, 1962 the plaintiffs called upon the defendants to desist from manufacturing, using, selling or offering for sale their goods under to mark 'ELLORA'. The defendants by their reply dated January 9, 1963, assured the plaintiffs that they were newcomers in the industry and did not want to quarrel over a name. They said they were prepared to stop using the name 'Ellora' and had chosen a new name for their time-pieces.

(4) But the defendants continued using business name "Ellora Industries". The plaintiffs again called upon the defendants to desist from infringing their trade mark 'Elora' by using the same as part of their trading style. Some correspondence was exchanged but the defendants did not give up their trading name.

(5) The defendants having refused to discontinue the use of the word 'Ellora' in their business name, the plaintiffs on December 2, 1964 commenced an action in the court of the district judge to restrain them. Two allegations were made in the suit. Firstly, that the use of the trade mark 'Elora' as the key portion of the trading style "Ellora Industries" was an infringement of the registered trade mark 'Elora' which was exclusive property of the plaintiffs, and secondly, that the use of the trade mark as a trading style was chosen deliberately and fraudulently in order to trade upon the reputation of the plaintiffs and to pass off the goods manufactured by the defendants as the goods of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs asked for a decree for permanent Injunction to restrain the defendants from using the mark 'Elora' or any other similar mark which is an infringement of the plaintiffs' registered trade mark and to prevent them from passing off their goods as the goods of the plaintiffs. A decree for accounts of profits earned by the defendants was also sought.

(6) The defendants contested the suit. They raised a number of pleas. On merits they contended that the use of the word "Ellora Industries" as their trading style 'did not amount to infringement of the plaintiffs' registered trade mark, that there had been no instance of deception or confusion in the mind of the public on account of the use of the words "Ellora Industries" in the course of trade, that the time-pieces manufactured by the defendants were being sold under the trade mark 'Gargon' which was a distinctive and conspicuous mark of the defendants' product. The allegations with regard to the passing-off were denied.

(7) A number of issues were raised. After hearing evidence and arguments the Additional District Judge decreed the suit with costs. He granted a permanent injunction in so far as infringement of the registered trade mark was concerned. But the claim for passing off he dismissed. Nor did he grant decree for accounts. From his decision the defendants appeal to this court. The plaintiffs have filed cross-objections.

(8) The plaintiffs registered trade mark is 'Eiora'. The defendants manufacture time-pieces with their distinctive mark 'Gargon'. 'Gargon' is printed on the dial of the time-pieces. But on the card board container in which the time-piece is sold the following is printed on two sides in bold letters :

"ELLORAINDUSTRIES Gargon (PUNJAB)".

On one side there is in addition, to these words a visual representation of a factoy with the words "Ellora Industries" written in small letters. The defendants adopted this as their trading style in 1962.

(9) The plaintiffs' objection is mainly to the adoption of the word "Ellora' by the defendants. That the defendants' business name is "Ellora Industries" under which they manufacture time-pieces is not denied. The word 'Ellora' is used conspicuously by them in advertisements etc. as part of their business name.

(10) On the evidence produced, by the plaintiffs the learned judge came to the conclusion that the infringement of the trade mark is established. On the question of passing off he was of the view that the plaintiffs were not able to substantiate their case.

(11) In the appeal and cross-objections three questions arise for decision. These are : 1. Passing off; II. Infringement of trade mark; and III. Enquiry into accounts of profits.

(12) 1. PASSING-OFF:The purpose of this tort is to protect commercial goodwill; to ensure that people's business reputations are not exploited. Since business "goodwill" is an asset, and therefore species of property, the law protects it against encroachment as such. The tort is based on economic policy, the need to encourage enterprise and to ensure commercial stability. It secures a reasonable area of monopoly to traders. It is thus complimentary to trade mark law which is founded upon statute rather than common law. But there is a difference between statute law relating to trade marks and the passing off action; for, while registration of relevant mark itself gives title to the registered owner, the onus in a passing off action lies upon the plaintiff to establish the existence of the business reputation which he seeks to protect. The asset protected is the reputation the plaintiff's business has in the relevant market. This is a complex thing. It is manifested in the various indicia which lead the client or customer to associate the business with the plaintiff; such as the name of the business, whether real or adopted, the mark, design, make-up or colour of the plaintiff's goods, the distinctive characteristics of services he supplies or the nature of his special processes. And it is around encroachments upon such indicia that passing off actions arise. What is protected is an economic asset.

(13) The plaintiff must establish that his business or goods have acquired the reputation he alleges; that, for example, "a particular name has become distinctive of his goods and that a reputation has attached to them under the name in question", and this can be done by showing that a substantial proportion of people who are likely to become purchasers of the goods of the kind in question associate the name with them. The weight of this burden must vary according to the facts.

(14) Take the present case. The words "Ellora Industries" which is the trading name of the dependents is likely to mislead the public as to source of manufacture and to create a likelihood that customer of the plaintiffs would be diverted to the defendants. In a passing off action all that need be proved is that the defendants goods are so marked, made up or described by them as to be calculated to mislead ordinary purchaser and to lead them to mistake the defendants' goods for those of the plaintiffs." [Reddaway v. Benham, (1892) 2 Q.B. 639 (644)] (2), It is the tendency to mislead or confuse that thus forms the gist of action; and the plaintiff need not establish fraud, nor that any one was actually deceived, or that he actually suffered damage. The tort is thus like libel) actionable per se. Indeed the forms of passing off, like the forms of nuisances, are infinite. As Salmond puts it :

"THE gist of the conception of passing off is that the goods are in effect telling a falsehood about themselves, are saying something about themselves which is calculated to mislead. The law on this matter is designed to protect traders against that form of unfair competition which consists in acquiring for oneself, by means of false or misleading devices, the benefit of the reputation already achieved by rival traders."

(Law of torts 17th ed. p. 401).

WINFIELD says :

"THE law of passing off arose to prevent unfair trading and protects the property rights of a trader in his good will..." (tort 9th ed. p. 485).

(15) The basic question in this tort turns upon whether the defendant's conduct is such as to tend to mislead the public to believe that the defendant's business is the plaintiff's or to cause confusion between the business activities of the two. Whether such a tendency to mislead or confuse is established can only be decided by consideration of all the circumstances.

(16) Because the protection given is not for his reputation in general, but to the plaintiff's business goodwill, it must be established that the defendant's activities are likely to compete with the plaintiff's. Where the parties are engaged in common or "overlapping" field of activity the competition will take place. In this case this is a useful test to apply. Both the plaintiffs and the defendants have a common field of activity. They are business rivals. Plaintiffs sell clocks under their registered trade mark 'Elora'. The defendants manufacture timepieces under their trading style "Ellora Industries". In fact the plaintiffs say that they intend to introduce time-pieces the the market shortly. If the plaintiffs start manufacturing and marketing time-pieces under their registered trade mark 'Elora' the use of the word 'Ellora' as a trading style by the defendants is bound to introduce confusion in the trade.

(17) The element of confusion is essential. As Wynn-Parry J. said in Me Culloch v. May Ltd., (1947), 2 All E.R. 845 (3) (851) :

"Iam satisfied that 'there is discoverable in all those cases in which the court has intervened the factor that there was a "common field of activity in which, however, remotely. both the plaintiff and the defendant were engaged and that it was the presence of that factor that grounded the jurisdiction of the court."

(18) The principal question revolves round the twin notions (1)that the defendants misstatement must be one that would be taken as a reference to the plaintiff, and (2) that the plaintiff must be likely to suffer in consequence. As to the first of these conditions the misstatement does not have to make out more than that the plaintiff has some connection with the defendant's goods or business. And it is accepted that a reference to the plaintiff as a trade source may be inferred in some circumstances where he is not known by the name, as for instance where it is his trade mark that is known. If the customer is misled into thinking about the trade origin or source of the goods it is a case of passing off. The second condition is ful fillled by showing that direct competition will damage the plaintiffs goodwill by losing his customers. Loss of sales is not the only form of probable injury that will suffice, loss of reputation among distributors has been accepted as sufficient.

(19) Where the plaintiff and the defendant are engaged in a common field of activity the probability of damage is great. There is risk of confusion because they occupy same areas of the trade in question, e.g. watches, as in this case. This is what was held in Me Culloch v. May (supra). I am aware that this case was not approved of in Australia : Flemings says:

"TO demand a 'common field of activity' would not only be incompatible with the growing trend towards diversification in business, but also foist an unwarranted limitation on a tort based simply on the prejudice to goodwill from practices that are actually calculated to confuse."

(FLEMING The Law of torts 5th ed. p. 702-703).

(20) On the question whether there can be passing off if the fields of activity are different, opinions differ. But everybody is agreed that if the line of business is same or allied there is an immense potential for confusion, deception and temporal harm. The test of common field of activity comes handy. Both parties are in the same trade. The plaintiffs sell clocks. The defendants sell time-pieces. And a time-piece is a portable clock, after all.

(21) Another reason for injuncting the defendants in their use of the word 'Ellora' in business name is that the plaintiffs in their evidence said they wanted to introduce time-pieces. In ("Kodak" for cycles), one reason given for protection was that the plaintiff company might want subsequently to extend their business into the defendant's field. Same is the case here.

(22) The present case is one of 'cashing in' of the trade reputation of the plaintiffs. It is an attempt to climb on another's goodwill. Goodwill is the result of a person's own labour and merit. One trader should not be allowed to usurp the fruits of a competitor's labour. Law will protect against intrusion by the rival upon the goodwill and other business values of another. This is "reaping without sowing". The court will issue injunction in cases where the reaping without sowing element is most brazen and damaging. One trader should not be expected to stand by and watch another reap the benefit of goodwill that he has built up or expenditure that he has made. It takes years (sometimes generations) of patient and self-abnegating toil and investment to develop and gain the advantage of goodwill. It is the invasion of this property right of goodwill that constitutes passing off. The true basis of the action is that the passing off injures the right of property in the plaintiff and that right of property being his right to the goodwill of his business.

(23) In recent times there have been extensions of passing off. It is an expanding business tort. The courts have developed the concept of misappropriation. Law has thrown protection around all intangible elements of value. The view of Holmes and Brandeis Jj were indeed minority opinions in which the Supreme Court laid foundations for a general tort of misappropriation of trade values. These are "property rights" and injunction can be issued against the infringer. Predatory business practices and piracy of business rights are denounced by commercial morality. So does law. Confusing customers as to source, as in this case, is an invasion of another's property rights. The unfairness arises from the fact that the purchasing public are likely to be misled. The protection is afforded not for the deceived customer but the rival trader. It is to prevent "dishonest trading", to use a phrase of Danckwerts J. The Australian court in Henderson's case recognised a form of wrongful appropriation of a "trade value". Evatt Cj and Myer J. said :

"THE wrongful appropriation of another's professional or business reputation is an injury in itself."

(24) In England Danokwerts J. in the "Spanish Champagne" case opened new horizons for the common law. J. Bollinger v. Costa Brava Wine Co. Ltd. is a most forward looking case in recent times where Danckwerts J. expanded the tort to protect misappropriation of business values. The champagne producers of France sought an injunction to prevent the defendants from marketing their sparkling wine under the name "Spanish Champagne". Danckwerts J. granted an injunction. Such a description as "Spanish Champagne" could not be expected to deceive the connoisseurs or "lovers of wine" but it was found that there were many potential customers who were much vague about what champagne was, some knowing it only as "the wine with the great reputation". What they would want was the "real thing" without knowing whether that meant the produce of a particular trade source or one having particular qualities. Champagne properly means French Champagne, which is associated with being "drunk at the gayest parties and in distinguished circles" and it was. therefore, wrong for the defendant to market his produce under the name "Spanish Champagne".

(25) The case related to the protection of a reputation which the word Champagne suggested. It is a word that was valuable to a group of traders to preserve. It was held that the traders engaged in a field of business activity had locus standi to obtain an injunction to restrain a competitive producer from making deceptive statements as to the place of origin or similar falsehood.

(26) Danckwerts J.'s decision in Bollinger's case was applied in ("Sherry" case) and (Scotch Whisky). In the later "Sherry" case Cross J. said of the "champagne" case, "In truth the decision went beyond the well-trodden paths of passing off in the unmapped area of 'unfair trading' or 'unlawful competition' ".

(27) In the present case the fact that the plaintiffs and the defendants are direct competitors is the most obvious reason for inferring likelihood of injury. 'Elora' as a business name suggests associations with the plaintiff's registered trade mark. It is suggestive of the fact that goods come from the same source. It imports a reference to its 'origin' a trade connection with the registered proprietor 'Elora'. This is an untrue statement. It is a false statement that is likely to mislead the public as to the origin of the goods. It is a commercial benefit which is derived from usurpation of the fruits of a competitor's labour. The present case illustrates the misuse of business names. It is an action against an imitator who is "reaping without sowing". See the illuminating discussion in the article by W.R. Cornish "Unfair Competition, A Progress Report" Vol. Xii, 1972-73 Journal of the Society of Public Teachers of Law p. 126

(28) The plaintiffs have produced watch dealers in evidence. They have also produced one Prem Prakash who purchased a time-piece manufactured by the defendants under the impression that it was a product of the plaintiffs. The dealers have deposed that though (here is no confusion in their minds about the clocks of the plaintiffs and the time-pieces of the defendants the ordinary customer does enquire from them if the time-pieces complained of are manufactured by the same people who manufacture Elora clocks.

(29) Counsel for the defendants argued that there was no confusion amongst the dealers in the market as the evidence shows and, therefore, no case of passing off is made out. I do not agree. The mischief done by the misleading designation adopted by the defendants is not merely that it is calculated to deceive immediate purchasers from (he infringers, but that it puts "a weapon calculated to be fraudulently used by the middlemen" into their hands, by which they may, intentionally or not, deceive the ultimate purchasers. The dealers may not themselves be deceived but they can certainly use the instrument of deception to create confusion in the trade or to mislead the purchasers. The representation need not deceive immediate purchasers ; the test is the likely impact on those members of the public who ultimately become purchasers.

(30) There is a misrepresentation for business purpose as to the origin of goods which the defendants manufacture in the course of their business. This is passing off. The defendants have no right to represent their business as the business of the plaintiffs.

(31) Lord Halsbury defined the tort of passing off in Reddaway v. Benham, 1896 A.C. 199(13). He said that the defendant shall not represent his goods or his business as the goods or business of the plaintiff. How do we apply this principle here ? The plaintiffs do not manufacture time-pieces though they are registered for them. This is an admitted case. However it is not always necessary that there must be in existence goods of that other man with which the defendant seeks to confuse his own. As Lord Greene M.R. said :

"PASSING off may occur in cases where the Plaintiffs do not in fact deal in the offending goods".

(PROPERTY in this context has received an extensive denotation. Thus it includes not only property in the strict sense but also name, per Cairns L.J. ; trade reputation, at 86-87, per Sargent LJ.; and, not merely the exclusive right which in some cases the law may confer to engage in some further activity associated with one's present activity, , but also the potential capacity which one may have, although as yet unrealised, to engage in the future activities sufficiently closely associated and connected with those at present carried on, Eastman Photographic. Alternatively these last mentioned cases may be viewed as cases in which the plaintiff's proprietory right to his name and trade reputation is invaded by conduct of the defendant which anticipates the plaintiff's exercise of that right in a field of activity which is sufficiently close to the plaintiff's present activities and which he may wish at some future time to enter; here there are both a common field of activity and a real and tangible risk of damage.

(32) In Farewell J. said :

"THERE must be evidence either of damage already committed, or the circumstances must be such as that the court can properly come to the conclusion that there is a serious risk, a real tangible risk, of damage in the future."

(33) The action of passing off is essentially a cause of action arising out of confusion. The plaintiff is identified by his personal name or some trade name or mark. If a person minded to obtain vendible goods which are identified in his mind with certain definite commercial source is led by the false statement to accept goods coming from a different commercial source the tort is established , Prof. Morison points out that the origin of passing off is lost in obscurity and that it is uncertain whether it had its origin as an action for deceit or as an action for defamation. However, the action came to be regarded as an action for deceit, although it was a variety of deceit in which the action was not by the person who was deceived but by the person whose mark was used to deceive. (See W. B. Morison Unfair Competition and "Passing-Off" (1956) 2 Sydney Law Review 50).

(34) In the present case there is an untrue representation. The plaintiffs' complaint in substance is that the supposition that the defendants are connected with the plaintiffs will injure the reputation of the plaintiffs in a way calculated to cause them financial loss. The purchasers are likely to think that the time-pieces come from the same source or through the same channel as docks and wrist watches. The purchasers are likely to be misled in thinking that the defendants' firm has an "intimate connection" with the plaintiffs or that the defendants' business is a branch of the plaintiffs or "somehow mixed up" with the plaintiffs' business. Even "any connection" with the plaintiffs is misrepresentation sufficient to constitute the tort. (See Harrods Ltd., (supra),. The present case is an illustration of business misrepresentation and "unfair trading", to use an expression of Danckwerts J.

(35) A typical commercial situation of business misrepresentation is neatly illustrated by Dwarkadas v. Lalchand, Air 1932 Sind 222 (25), where it was held that the defendant represented his business as that of the plaintiff.

(36) On passing off my conclusion is that the use of the word 'Ellora' by the defendants is indicative of a warm intimacy with the plaintiffs. There is trustworthy evidence that the registered trade mark 'Elora' of the plaintiffs is known to the trade and the word 'Elora' lurks and lingers in the mind of the customers minded to obtain goods of clause

14. A word appeals to the ear more than the eye. There is a real and tangible risk of damage, the field of activity being common. The wrongful appropriation of trade reputation is an injury to the plaintiffs. That injury and the acknowledged intention to continue to inflict it, is ample justification for the injunction which was granted.

(37) II. Infringement Of Registered Trade Mark :A trade mark is the most obvious means of referring to a trader's products. Trade mark registration is povided to simplify and enhance common law protection against deception as to trade source. The registered proprietor has the "exclusive right" to use the trade mark in relation the goods in respect of which it is registered. (S. 28 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 1958 (the Act).

(38) It is unnecessary to prove an intention to deceive, at least to obtain an injunction. The representation must be calculated to deceive, though no deception need actually have taken place, because "the very life of a trade-mark depends upon the promptitude with which it is vindicated". It is worth noting that words can be protected without proof of their distinctiveness if they have been registered as trade marks under s. 9 of the Act

(39) A mark is infringed by another trader if, even without using the whole of it upon or in connection with his goods, he uses one or more of its essential features. Thus it has long been accepted that if a word forming part of a mark has come in trade to be used to identify the goods of the owner of the mark, it is an infringement of the mark itself to use that word as the mark or part of the mark of another trader, for confusion is likely to result.

(40) The most common cases are those in which the defendant uses or imitates a trade mark under which the plaintiff's goods have become known to the public. If the trade mark is registered for the goods concerned, any passing off is likely to involve infringement of the rights given by registration also. Both the statute law and the common law employ a common conceptual device. The device is to find a "property right" in the plaintiff which has been infringed. In this case the trade mark is registered for time-pieces also. It is a dear case of infringement.

(41) The "exclusive right" is given by s. 28 of the Act. S. 29 is an appendage to s. 28, its function being to widen the definition of infringement. The expression 'use of a mark in relation to goods' is defined in s. 2(2)(b). It includes the following types of cases: (1) use of the mark upon the goods, (2) use of the mark in other physical relation to the goods, such as, use on a container, tin or wrapper or ticket attached to the goods.

(42) The defendants have caused a part of the plaintiffs reputation to be filched. They have annexed to their business name what is another men's property. The plaintiffs' trade mark 'Elora' is the core or the essential part of the defendants' trading style, "Ellora Industries".

(43) One of the most common ways of unfair appropriation of the plaintiff's goodwill is by the imitation of the plaintiff's trade mark to such an extent that the public is deceived thereby. The interest in the "exclusive right" and use of trade marks is recognised by the law on grounds that are in part akin to the prevention of fraud and in part the protection of property right. The law has provided for registration of trade marks and such registration is conclusive as to priority of use.

(44) The function of the trade marks is to identify the source of manufacture of goods. It is an indicia of origin. With the expansion of markets and the development of large scale advertising, trade marks began to perform the additional function of an advertising and selling device. In the market the chief value of the trade-mark is its power to stimulate sales. In law, the fundamental theory upon which the interest in the trade mark is protected is that a trade mark identifies the goods coming from a particular source, and that an infringing designation tends to divert customer from that source by falsely representing that other goods come from it. This at any rate is the theory of sections 28 and 29 of the Act. Thus "EUora Industries" is an 'infringing designation', a misleading name and its use must be restrained by injunction so that the competitor is prohibited from gaining an unfair advantage by confusing potential customers. "The tendency of the law, both legislative and common, has been in the direction of enforcing increasingly higher standards of fairness or commercial morality in trade."

(45) The appropriation of the plaintiffs' trade mark by the defendants as their own badge is as much a violation of the "exclusive right" of the rival trader as the actual copy of his device. It is a misleading designation. It creates a confusion as to source in the mind of the purchasing public. The words in the defendants' trading style convey a misrepresentation that materially injures the registered proprietor of the trade mark. Many and insidious are the ways of infringement. Sometimes "the falsehood is a little more subtle, the injury a little more indirect", than in ordinary cases. [International News Service v. Associated Press (supra) per Holmes J.].

(46) On this part of the case I endorse the finding of the learned judge.

(47) III. Accounts Of Profits :Counsel for the plaintiffs relies on s. 106 of the Act and claims that at their option the plaintiffs have chosen to demand an enquiry into profits. I do not think I should grant this relief to the plaintiffs. My reasons are these.

(48) In the first place the plaintiffs have not so far manufactured time-pieces. They have confined themselves to clocks and wrist watches.

(49) Secondly, the defendants' time-pieces are manufactured under the mark 'Gurgon' which is distinctly and conspicuously printed on the dial as well as the carton.

(50) Thirdly, the courts order an account of profits on the theory that the defendant was constructively an agent of the plaintiff in disposing of goods in a manner infringing the plaintiff's rights [Snell Principles of Equity (24th ed. 1954) p. 574]. The principle upon which the court grants an account of profits is that where one party owes a duty to another, the person to whom the duty is owed is entitled to recover from the other party every benefit which that other party has received by virtue of his fiduciary position if in fact he has obtained it without the knowledge or consent of the party to whom he owed the duty (Kerly Law of Trade Marks 10th ed. p. 344). This principle does not apply here because the plaintiffs were not manufacturing time-pieces.

(51) Fourthly, there is no reasonable prospect that the inquiry would reach a positive result. Kerly says that account of profits is an equitable remedy and the court has a discretion whether or not to grant it. Only in certain cases will the court grant an account of profits. I do not think this is one of those cases where I ought to order an inquiry into profits.

(52) At the fag end of the case before me the defendants made an application (CM 962 of 1979) for additional evidence. I do not think there is any ground to allow the application as none of the conditions of 0.41 rule 27, Code of Civil Procedure is satisfied. The application, is accordingly dismissed.

(53) For these reasons the appeal is dismissed. Cross-objections are allowed to this extent that it is held that the defendants-appellants, in addition to infringement of registered trade mark, are also guilty of the tort of passing-off. Cross-objections are dismissed in so far as the claim for accounts of profits is concerned. The decree for injunction passed by the trial court is affirmed. The defendants are ordered to deliver up the offending boxes, wrappers, letters heads for destruction. The defendants shall pay the costs of the suit and the appeal. On the cross objections I make no order as to costs.

 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

VOGUESERV INTERNATIONAL CASE


COMMENT: In this Judgment, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court has laid down the important proposition.

 

1.            A computer database is a collection of information stored on computer media. The information may be a list of clients and their addresses or it may be the full text of various documents or it may be a set of co-ordinates relating to a three-dimensional building structure. The range of things which may be included in a computer database is enormous. The information contained in the database may, itself, be confidential and protected by the law of breach of confidence but what of the copyright position (Para 8).

 

2.         A in General Guide (1981 Ed). The authors have stated that it is not possible to provide an exhaustive list of all that a Court may regard as confidential or a trade secret. However, some examples of what has been held to constitute the subject matter of an action to protect confidential information or a trade secret include (amongst others) customers lists and information concerning the proposed contents of a mail order catalogue. (Para 9).

 

3.         Even compilation of clients‟ database has been held to be amounting to literary work wherein the author has a copyright. In M/s Sanmar Specialty Chemicals Ltd. (Para 12).

 

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

CS(OS) 1436/2012

Reserved on: 17th July, 2013

Decided on: 8th August, 2013

 

M/S VOGUESERV INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD .....Plaintiff Through: Mr. Rajat Wadhwa, Advocate.

 

Versus

 

RAJESH GOSAIN & ORS .....Defendants Through: Mr. Anurag Ahluwalia and Mr. Rahul, Advocates for Defendant Nos. 1 & 3.

Mr. Rajesh Dwivedi, Advocate for

Mr. A.K. De, Advocate for Defendant No. 2.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MUKTA GUPTA

I.A. No. 9538/2012 (by Plaintiff u/Order XXXIX Rule 1 & 2 CPC) and I.A. No. 13187/2012 (by Defendant Nos. 1 & 3 u/Order XXXIX Rule 4 CPC for vacation of order) in CS (OS) 1436/2012

1. The Plaintiff, a company incorporated under the Companies Act filed the suit against the Defendants, its ex-employees inter alia seeking a decree of permanent injunction against the Defendants restraining them from contacting or dealing with Companies namely "STRAUSS innovations" (Germany), "BOLTZE" (Germany), "IMPRESSIONEN" (Germany), "SCHNEIDER" (Germany), and DS PRODUKTE" (Germany) in any manner whatsoever or from using any other information, material, electronic in and other data belonging to Plaintiff Company and seeking return of the said information, electronic data, documents etc.

2. By way of an ex-parte ad-interim injunction dated 18th May, 2012 this Court in IA No. 9538/2012 restrained the Defendants from using the data of the Plaintiff in respect of the abovementioned clients as also contacting them. Defendant Nos. 1 and 3 filed I.A. No. 13187/2012 under Order XXXIX Rule 4 CPC seeking vacation of the ex parte ad interim injunction. Thus the two applications are taken up for hearing.

3. Learned counsel for the Plaintiff contends that the Defendants in their written statement do not deny that they are using the data, material and information prepared while the Defendants were in employment of the Plaintiff. The case of the Defendants is that the client details of the plaintiff are in public domain and in the absence of any contract with the client which clearly authorizes the Plaintiff alone to deal with the clients in India in the business transactions, no exclusivity can be claimed. This contention of the Defendants is wholly erroneous in view of the decision of this Court in Diljeet Titus, Advocate and others vs. Alfred A. Adebare and others, 2006 (32) PTC 609 (Delhi). Relying upon Homag India Private Ltd. vs. Ulfath Ali Khan, MFA No. 1682 of 2010 decided by the Karnataka High Court on 10th I.A. Nos. 9538/2012 and 13187/2012 in October, 2012 it is stated that in an identical case the Court was pleased to grant temporary injunction. It is further contended that though the Defendant Nos. 1 and 3 have filed an application under Section XXXIX Rule 4 CPC however, the Defendant Nos. 2 and 4 have not filed any application and thus they are conscious that their acts were illegal and contrary to the law. Hence the ex-parte order granting injunction is liable to be confirmed.

4. Learned counsel for the Defendant Nos. 1 and 3 contends that as per Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, any agreement in restraint of trade of business or lawful profession is void to that extent. Hence even assuming there is any contract though there is none, the Plaintiff cannot enforce the restraint. Relying upon American Express Bank Ltd. vs. Ms. Priya Puri, 2006 (110) FLR 1061 it is contended that facts like names of customers, telephone numbers and addresses are well known and can easily be ascertained being in public domain and thus cannot be treated as trade secret or confidential information. Referring to Ms. Sanmar Specialty Chemicals Ltd. vs. Dr. Biswajit Roy, AIR 2007 Madras 237 it is contended that confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreement where-under the Respondents shall not disclose confidential information to any person after cessation of in employment with the applicant and not to take up any employment or involve himself with any other person or body corporate in the similar field of activity which are competitive in nature and thus contrary to Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act. Hence the interim order is liable to be vacated.

5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties.

6. The case of the Plaintiff is that the Plaintiff Company got engaged inter alia in the business of trading of home textiles, home decorative, furnishing and clothing etc. and provide comprehensive buying service to international buying companies. It has developed and maintained various confidential data and information regarding internal processes, specific client profile, client details, business strategy and methods, finances, client budget, pricing structure, upcoming projects, vendors business profiles etc. According to the Plaintiff this confidential data was developed over a period of several years by putting in extensive efforts however, the Defendants who are its former employees had access to some of its secret and confidential data during the course of their employment and all the four Defendants after resigning from the service of the Plaintiff company in the second week of July, 2011 took wrongful possession of various important and confidential files, documents, records etc. and are now illegally using them for their own in advantage, contrary to the terms and conditions of their appointment letter. Consequently the Plaintiff registered a FIR against the Defendants on which certain data and records were seized however the Defendants are still using the data which was misappropriated and stolen from the Plaintiff Company and are contacting the old clients of the Plaintiff. The Defendants in November, 2011 formed a new company in the name and style of „Excel Buying Resources‟ in which they continue to use the data of the Plaintiff Company and continued to be in touch with the clients of the Plaintiff. One of the clients of the Plaintiff Company under deception continued sending emails to Defendant Nos. 1 and 3 on their old email accounts created by the Plaintiff Company on which the Defendants were dealing with the Plaintiff”s customers.

7. The relevant terms of agreement between the Plaintiff and the Defendants as per the employment letter are as under: "1.......

2. ......

8. You shall maintain complete secrecy of information and know-how regarding our business that may come to your knowledge during the course of your tenure with the Company. You shall not utilize, disclose or divulge the same to any other person/Origination.

9. ....

17. You recognize and acknowledge that the company shall own all work products created by you during your term of service contract and ownership of all rights, titles and interests of the intellectual proprietary rights, therein shall rest exclusively with the company "Vogueserve International Pvt. Limited". You also acknowledge that the restriction is reasonable and necessary to protect the legitimate interest of the company. That any breach by you will result in irreparable injury to the company for which a remedy at law would be inadequate.

Accordingly, you acknowledge that the company shall be entitled to temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against you in the event of any breach or threatened breach by you, in addition to any other remedy that may be available at law or equity."

8. There is no doubt that a contract for restraint of trade or profession is a void contract. Vide Clause-17 of the terms of appointment of the Defendants it was agreed that the Defendants recognize and acknowledge that the Plaintiff owned the products created by them during their term of services, the ownerships of all rights, titles and interest of the intellectual propriety rights were to vest in the Plaintiff and in breach thereof the Plaintiff was to take recourse of legal remedies. Thus the only thing which has to be seen is whether the products/materials/data sought to be used by the Defendants is of a kind which entails intellectual propriety rights in which case the bar under Section 27 of the Contract Act would not be attracted. In Diljeet Titus, Advocate (supra) this Court while dealing with a similar situation held that the copyright exists not only in what is drafted and created but also in the list of clients and addresses specially designed by an advocate or a law firm. It was held:

"23. Learned Counsel next referred to the judgment of the learned single Judge of this Court (as he then was) in Burlington Home Shopping Pvt. Ltd. v. Rajnish Chibber and Anr. 61 (1996) DLT 6. After referring to the provisions of Section 17(c) of the Copyright Act which provides that if a work is made in the course of other's employment under a contract of service, apprenticeship it is the employer who is the first owner of the copyright therein in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, a reference has been made as to what can be compilations to be included in literary works and such information would include a list of clients and their addresses. The relevant passages are reproduced as under:

7. Copinger and Skone James on Copyright (1991 Edn.) deal with law in the context of compilation and state that 'compilations' are included in 'literary work'. They further state: Trade catalogues are generally compilations, and as such are capable of protection as literary works. On similar principles, a computer database, stored on tape, disk or by other electronic means, would also generally be a compilation and capable of protection as a literary work

8. David Bainbridge has in SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT

LAW (at p.48) dealt with computer database in the following terms:

A computer database is a collection of information stored on computer media. The information may be a list of clients and their addresses or it may be the full text of various documents or it may be a set of co-ordinates relating to a three-dimensional building structure. The range of things which may be included in a computer database is enormous. The information contained in the database may, itself, be confidential and protected by the law of breach of confidence but what of the copyright position

The simplest way of looking at a computer database is to consider the work it represents, for example a printed listing of names and addresses, a printed set of

documents or a drawing of a building. Those works are protected by copyright as literary or artistic works. It does not matter if the work is never produced on paper and only ever exists on computer storage media.

Example: XYZ Supplies Ltd. has a computer database containing names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers of customers. This database has been developed over a couple of years and it is usual for a new customer's details to be entered directly into the computer by XYZ's telesales' staff without a written record being made. The customer database is protected by copyright as an original literary work (assuming a modicum of skill and judgment is involved in compiling the database, for example, if the telesales staff have to exercise judgment in deciding whether to accept a new customer). Being a compilation, it is a literary work. By storing the information in a database, it has been recorded in 'writing or otherwise' as required by the Act ('Writing' is defined widely and includes any form of notation or code regardless of the method or medium of storage). Even if the database is never printed out on paper, it will be protected by copyright.

9. What is confidentiality or secret information has been dealt with by McComas, Davison and Gonski in THE PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS - A in General Guide (1981 Ed). The authors have stated that it is not possible to provide an exhaustive list of all that a Court may regard as confidential or a trade secret. However, some examples of what has been held to constitute the subject matter of an action to protect confidential information or a trade secret include (amongst others) customers lists and information concerning the proposed contents of a mail order catalogue.

12. From the above statement of the authorities and the trend of judicial opinion it is clear that a compilation of addresses developed by any one by devoting time, money, labour and skill though the sources may be commonly situated amounts to a 'literary work' wherein the author has a copyright.

9. Thus even compilation of clients‟ database has been held to be amounting to literary work wherein the author has a copyright. In M/s Sanmar Specialty Chemicals Ltd. (Supra) relied upon by learned counsel for the defendant the court disposed of the application in view of the specific contention of the Respondent therein that the he was not using any of the confidential information that he acquired from the applicants‟ company and all the information he was making use of are easily available in the public domain. Learned counsel for the Defendants has not been able to show that the data collected was in public domain nor can claim benefit of Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act.

10 In the facts and circumstances of the case I am of the considered opinion that the Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case in his favour and in case the Defendants are not injuncted, the same will cause irreparable loss to the Plaintiff. Consequently the interim order dated 18th May, 2012 passed by this Court is made absolute.

11. I.A. No. 9538/2012 (by Plaintiff u/Order XXXIX Rule 1 & 2 CPC) is disposed of and I.A. No. 13187/2012 (by Defendant Nos. 1 & 3 u/Order XXXIX Rule 4 CPC) is dismissed.

(MUKTA GUPTA)

JUDGE

AUGUST 08, 2013

 

EASY JET CASE


COMMENT: In this Judgment, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court has laid down the important proposition.

 

1.         Owing to the fact that Indians could access the plaintiff no 2”s services through its website as far back as in 1998, I am of the view that the same is sufficient to constitute prior use. (Para 27).

 

2.         The defendants have chosen not to contest the present proceedings and, therefore, the only valid inference that can be drawn is that the defendants adopted the impugned trademark to ride on the plaintiffs‟ goodwill and popularity. (Para 31).

 

3.        

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Judgment reserved on: 09.07.2013

Judgment delivered on: 19.08.2013

CS(OS) 157/2010

 

EASY GROUP IP LICENSING LIMITED AND ANR                 .... Plaintiff

Through: Mr. Amit Sibal, Mr. Udit Sood and

Prateek Chadha, Advocates

 

                        Versus

EASY JET AVIATION SERVICES PVT LTD AND ANR        ..... Defendant

Through:

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIPIN SANGHI

JUDGMENT

VIPIN SANGHI, J.

1. This suit for grant of permanent injunction restraining infringement of registered trademark, passing off, delivery up and damages has been filed by Plaintiffs no 1 and 2, which are companies incorporated under the laws of England and Wales against defendant no 1, a company incorporated under the companies act 1956 and defendant no 2, who is the director of defendant no 1, in respect of the alleged infringement and passing off of the plaintiff’s registered trademark "easyJet".

2. The plaintiff no 1 is the owner and plaintiff no 2 is the licensed user of the registered trademark "easyJet" (hereinafter referred to as the suit trademark). The said trademark was adopted by plaintiff no 2- which is wholly owned by easyJet, plc, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, in the year 1995 in respect of a low cost carrier airline operated by plaintiff no 2. In the year 2000, on account of reorganization of business, the suit trademark was assigned by plaintiff no 2 to plaintiff no 1. Subsequently via Brand License Agreement dated 05.11.2000, plaintiff no 1 licensed the use of the suit trademark to plaintiff no 2.

3. The plaintiffs allege that the defendant no. 1 company having its principal place of business in Mumbai, is trading in the name and style of “EasyJet Aviation Services Limited‟. It is engaged in facilitating air charters, air craft management as well as buying and selling of aircrafts as middlemen. The plaintiffs allege that defendant no 1 is malafidely using the aforesaid trademark "EasyJet" in relation to services that are identical to those covered by the classification in which the plaintiffs mark "easyJet" is registered.

4. Summons were issued in the suit vide order dated 24.02.2010. Though initial appearance was put in by the defendants, no written statement was filed and after repeated absence, the defendants were proceeded ex parte vide order dated 16.12.2010.

5. The plaintiff tendered the affidavit by way of evidence of Sh. Sudhir Thakur, the constituted attorney of the plaintiff no 1 as PW-1, which is Ex. PW-1A. This witness proved various documents on 05.08.2011, which are Ex. PW1/1 to PW1/46. The testimony of the plaintiffs witness has gone un rebutted and there is no reason not to accept the same. Some of the exhibited documents, which are considered relevant, shall be referred to hereinafter.

6. The first submission of learned counsel for plaintiffs is that the suit trademark is registered in England since 1995, and in India since 2001onwards under multiple classes, the most important being class 39 - which registration was granted on 07.12.2004. Class 39 includes, but is not restricted to, transportation of goods, passenger and travelers by air; airline and shipping services; airport check in service; chartering of aircraft; rental and hire of aircraft etc. Learned counsel submits that the plaintiffs are the prior users of the suit trademark since 1995 - though later in India, as the defendants adopted the suit trademark in 2003 when the defendant company was incorporated.

7. Learned counsel for plaintiff relies on the decision in N.R. Dongre v. Whirlpool Corporation, AIR 1995 Del 300 and Allergan Inc v. Milmet Oftho Industries, 1997 2 CAL LT, to advance the submission that prior use of the trademark anywhere in the world, whose reputation has spilled over into India, is sufficient to maintain a suit for infringement of trademark and passing off. It is submitted that the plaintiffs first adopted the mark in 1995 i.e. much before the defendants, and on account of prior use from the year 1995, the plaintiffs are well within their rights to seek a restraint against the defendants from using the suit trademark.

8. Learned counsel submits that besides the suit trademark, the plaintiff no 1 has also secured trademark registrations for other easy group marks such as "easyCar", "easyHotel", easyInternetcafe" amongst others. It is submitted that in respect of the suit trademark alone, the plaintiff has registrations in over 40 countries.

9. Learned counsel for the plaintiff submits the defendants infringement of the suit trademark is covered under Section 29 of the Trademarks Act,1999 (hereinafter the „Act‟). Section 29 of the Act reads as under -

Section 29 - Infringement of registered trade marks

(1) A registered trade mark is infringed by a person who, not being a registered proprietor or a person using by way of permitted use, uses in the course of trade, a mark which is identical with, or deceptively similar to, the trade mark in relation to goods or services in respect of which the trade mark is registered and in such manner as to render the use of the mark likely to be taken as being used as a trade mark. (2) A registered trade mark is infringed by a person who, not being a registered proprietor or a person using by way of permitted use, uses in the course of trade, a mark which because of-

(a) its identity with the registered trade mark and the similarity of the goods or services covered by such registered trade mark; or

(b) its similarity to the registered trade mark and the identity or similarity of the goods or services covered by such registered trade mark; or

(c) its identity with the registered trade mark and the identity of the goods or services covered by such registered trade mark, is likely to cause confusion on the part of the public, or which is likely to have an association with the registered trade mark.

(3) In any case falling under clause (c) of sub-section (2), the court shall presume that it is likely to cause confusion on the part of the public.

(4) A registered trade mark is infringed by a person who, not being a registered proprietor or a person using by way of permitted use, uses in the course of trade, a mark which--

(a) is identical with or similar to the registered trade mark; and

(b) is used in relation to goods or services which are not similar to those for which the trade mark is registered; and

(c) the registered trade mark has a reputation in India and the use of the mark without due cause takes unfair advantage of or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or repute of the registered trade mark.

(5) A registered trade mark is infringed by a person if he uses such registered trade mark, as his trade name or part of his trade name, or name of his business concern or part of the name, of his business concern dealing in goods or services in respect of which the trade mark is registered.

(6) For the purposes of this section, a person uses a registered mark, if, in particular, he--

(a) affixes it to goods or the packaging thereof;

(b) offers or exposes goods for sale, puts them on the market, or stocks them for those purposes under the

registered trade mark, or offers or supplies services under the registered trade mark;

(c) imports or exports goods under the mark; or

(d) uses the registered trade mark on business papers or in advertising.

(7) A registered trade mark is infringed by a person who applies such registered trade mark to a material intended to be used for labelling or packaging goods, as a business paper, or for advertising goods or services, provided such person, when he applied the mark, knew or had reason to believe that the application of the mark was not duly authorised by the proprietor or a licensee.

(8) A registered trade mark is infringed by any advertising of that trade mark if such advertising--

(a) takes unfair advantage of and is contrary to honest practices in industrial or commercial matters; or

(b) is detrimental to its distinctive character; or

(c) is against the reputation of the trade mark.

(9) Where the distinctive elements of a registered trade mark consist of or include words, the trade mark may be infringed by the spoken use of those words as well as by their visual representation and reference in this section to the use of a mark shall be construed accordingly.

10. Learned counsel submits that the defendant is using the impugned trademark in relation to the same services as offered by the plaintiffs under the suit trademark. It is submitted that the plaintiff‟s trademark is registered under Class 39 which includes chartering, buying/selling of aircrafts, which directly cover the activities undertaken by the defendants. Learned counsel submits that by virtue of Section 29(5), the defendants are in infringement of the suit trademark as they have adopted the same as part of their trade name „EasyJet Aviation Services Limited‟. Learned counsel submits that the trademark "easyJet" is not only used by the plaintiffs to distinguish their goods and services, but is also used by plaintiff no 2 as part of its company name, being a mark of repute which is well known in India for the goods and services provided in relation to the mark, as well as to the members of the aviation and travel industry.

11. Learned counsel for the plaintiff next submits that since the year 1995, the trademark of the plaintiffs has come to be associated with a significant amount of goodwill all over the world. Learned counsel submits that the defendant no 1, which was incorporated on 31.03.2003, is in the same line of business as plaintiffs i.e. providing air travel services and therefore the defendants would have been aware of the plaintiffs trademark owing to the plaintiff’s popularity not just worldwide, but even in India. It is submitted that the advertising and publicity expenditure incurred by the plaintiffs for worldwide promotion was £ 38.1 million in 2009 alone.

12. Learned counsel submits that up till the year 2009, over 45 million people had travelled on the plaintiff no 2‟s airline. It is submitted that the website of the plaintiffs eayJet.com went live in the year 1995 and attracts immense traffic from Indians who travel abroad. Learned counsel submits that though the airline does not operate in India, many Indians books tickets on the plaintiff‟s website easyJet.com and easyJet.in for routes on which the airline operates when Indians travel abroad. Learned counsel submits that the plaintiff need not carry on actual business in India or have any physical presence in India to maintain a suit for infringement as long the plaintiff either has customers in India, or has a strong reputation in India.

13. To support the aforesaid contention, reliance is placed on Caesar Park Hotels & Resorts v. Western Hospitality Services, AIR 1999 Mad 396 and Rainforest Café v. Rainforest & Ors, 2001 (91) DLT 508. In Caesar Park (supra), in action for passing off, the court observed "Thus, it is manifestly clear that the plaintiff in order to get the relief of interim injunction restraining the defendant from using its service mark need not establish that they actually carry on business in this country. It is enough if they have got customers here. If they have got customers in India, it necessarily means that the plaintiff has got reputation in the general sense of the word in this country. The said reputation could be brought out by advertisement. Therefore, if the plaintiff had acquired ownership of the service mark in India, as a result of some business done in India and as a result of large scale advertisement made in foreign periodicals circulated in India and the periodicals issued in India, he would certainly be entitled to take passing off action in India." (emphasis supplied)

14. It is further submitted that between the period May1, 2008 - January 7, 2010 the website of the plaintiff www.easyJet.com received in excess of 3 lakh visitors from IP addresses in India. It is submitted that the website quotes prices in INR for the convenience of Indians and that during the aforesaid period, over 28000 bookings were made for easyJet flights by persons accessing the website from India. It is submitted that plaintiff no 1 in addition to easyJet.com owns various other domain names with the prefix easy for its other businesses.

15. Learned counsel submits that in addition to the above, the suit trademark had gained tremendous popularity in India on account of being featured in several leading publications such as "The Times of India", "Hindu" and "Hindustan Times". It is submitted that in addition to the aforesaid, several Management Research Centers have studied the plaintiff‟s business model and operations and have authored reports and case studies on the same. Besides being featured in Indian newspapers, the plaintiff‟s trademark has also been featured in international leading magazines such as "Time", "Forbes", and "Economist" etc. which are also available for circulation in India. Learned counsel further submits that since 1999, the plaintiffs have been conferred several awards and accolades over the years such as "one of the greatest marketing moments of the 20 th Century" by "Marketing Magazine" in 1999, "Best Low Cost Airlines- Business Traveller Magazine" in 1999, "Top Consumer Superbrand spot by Brand Council" in 2003 for the second time, "Best Airline website at TravelMole Web Awards" in 2006 etc.

16. Learned counsel for the plaintiff submits that due to the aforementioned popularity of the plaintiffs mark since, at least since the year 2000 in India, the easy group of trademarks have come to be associated exclusively with the plaintiffs and the adoption by the defendants of the suit trademark has a strong likelihood of confusing the public, since the consumer base and services offered by the parties are the same. It is submitted that the trademark is a "well-known trademark" within the meaning of Section 2(zg) of the Act. However, at this stage, counsel for plaintiffs submits that it is not necessary for him to go into the aforesaid submission regarding the suit trademark‟s status as a "well-known trademark".

17. Learned counsel next submits that suit trademark is a coined word, coined by the Sir Stelios Haji-laonnou, the promoter of plaintiff no 2 airline and has no natural connotation. It is submitted that the trademark has all the trappings of an invented word and, therefore, is inherently distinctive in as much, as, there is no gap between the words "easy" and "Jet" and the first letter of the prefix "easy" is in small case, whereas the first letter of the suffix is in upper case. It is submitted that the various other trademarks of the plaintiffs such as easyHotel, easyCar, easyMoney all have the first letter of the prefix in lower case and no space between the two words. Learned counsel submits that by virtue of having acquired distinctiveness through use, the suit trademark qualifies for protection under the Act.

18. Learned counsel for plaintiff submits that the mark of the defendants "EasyJet" is a blatant copy of the plaintiff’s mark "easyJet‟ in as much, as, there is no space between the prefix and suffix and furthermore the first letter of the suffix has been capitalized to imitate the plaintiff’s mark. It is submitted that the defendants are passing off their services as those of the plaintiff and the same will cause a threefold injury to the plaintiffs i.e. 1) Confusion in public, 2) Adverse affect to plaintiff’s reputation if the defendant indulges in acts injurious to the reputation of the trademark, and 3) Dilution i.e. the source of the goodwill and profits of the plaintiffs stand likely to get diluted on account of the infringement. In support of the aforesaid submission, learned counsel relies on the decision in B.K Engineering v. U.B.H.T. Enterprises, AIR 1985 Del 210 and Ellora Industries v. Banaraasi Das, AIR 1980 Del 254.

19. Learned counsel submits that by dishonestly adopting the mark of the plaintiffs, there is a high likelihood of the members of the public engaging with the defendants under the misapprehension that they are dealing with the plaintiffs. Learned counsel further submits that under Section 27(2) of the Act, an action for passing off can be maintained in a suit for infringement.

20. Learned counsel for plaintiffs next submits that the plaintiff’s rights in the easy group of trademarks/service marks have been protected by various international tribunals such as the domain name dispute resolution panel- namely WIPO, which is constituted under the aegis of the United Nations. Learned counsel submits that the aforesaid demonstrates that judicial pronouncements have consistently recognized the plaintiff”s rights in "easyJet" and the easy family of trademarks.

21. The next submission of learned counsel is that the defendants have steered clear of the court so that this court cannot access the books of accounts of the defendants to analyse the profits made by the defendants on account of passing off its services as those of the plaintiffs. Learned counsel submits that the plaintiff”s are entitled to damages on account of the defendant‟s infringement and passing off, of the suit trademark. On the aspect of quantum of damages to be awarded to the plaintiffs, reliance is placed on Time Incorporated v. Lokesh Srivastava & Anr, 2005 DLT (116) 599, Microsoft Corporation v. Mr. Yogesh Paprt & Anr., 2005 (118) DLT 580 and Hero Honda Motors Ltd. v. Shree Assuramji Scooters, 2005 (125) DLT 504. Learned counsel submits that in Time Incorporated (supra), a decree of Rs. 5 lacs on account of damages to goodwill and reputation and Rs 5 lacs on account of punitive damages were awarded to the plaintiff, as far back as the year 2005. It is submitted that the prayer of the plaintiffs in the present suit for award of damages worth Rs. 20,05,5000 is fair, keeping in mind that even as far back as eight years ago, courts were inclined to grant damages to the tune of Rs. 10 lacs.

22. A perusal of the trademark registration certificate, Exhibit PW1/36, of the plaintiffs‟ reveals that the plaintiff‟s mark "easyJet" was first registered in the United Kingdom in 1995 in respect of class several classes including class 39 which covers the services offered by the plaintiffs and the defendants. Subsequently, the suit trademark was granted registration in India in various classes from 2001 onwards- in class 16 vide Exhibit PW 1/44 dated 07.02.2001 and the most important for the purpose of this suit being class 39, registration whereof was granted on 07.12.2004 vide Exhibit PW1/41. As aforementioned, class 39 includes, but is not restricted to transportation of goods, passenger and travelers by air; airline and shipping services; airport check in service; chartering of aircraft; rental and hire of aircraft etc.

23. The plaintiff‟s website www.easyJet.com, went live in 1995. The said website has been accessible to Indians who wish to travel on the plaintiff no 2‟s airline on its operational routes abroad since 1998. A significant aspect of the plaintiff‟s business model is its elimination of ticketing agents through its website that provides customers the convenience of booking tickets online as far back as 1998. Exhibit PW1/15 is an article dated 08.03.2001 in the magazine "Economist" stating that several airlines, including the plaintiff no 2‟s airline, sell up to 90% of their tickets online.

24. Exhibit PW 1/29 is a printout from an Indian online travel portal www.cleartrip.com showing the details, routes, destinations, flights and company information of the plaintiff’s operations. The website cleartrip.com also provides a link to the plaintiff’s website. This evidences the fact that even besides the plaintiff’s own website, Indians can book tickets on the plaintiff no 2‟s airline via Indian online travel portals too. Exhibit PW1/10 is a summary of visits from Indian IP addresses to the plaintiff no 2‟s website. The same shows that between 2008-2010, 28416 bookings were made by clients accessing the website from India.

25. Furthermore, Exhibit PW1/14 is an article dated 16.11.2000 in the magazine "The Economist" referring to several low cost airlines including plaintiff no 2 and its plan to increase the density of its flights. Exhibit PW 1/19 is a list of top 5 best companies in marketing according to "FORBES Asia" magazine featuring the plaintiff no 2 at fifth position. Exhibit PW1/21 is an article dated 23.07.2001 in International magazine "TIME" discussing the easy group‟s successful marketing strategy. Similarly exhibits PW1/22, PW1/23 and PW1/24 are write ups in "TIME" magazine about low cost carriers and the plaintiff no 2 airline dated 26.11.2001, 22.05.2002 and 04.08.2002 respectively. The aforesaid demonstrates that the plaintiff no 2 has consistently been covered in international news and magazines as a successful marketing phenomenon. In Allergan Inc (supra), it was held that internationally established reputation is enough to entitle the plaintiff to sue in India, even if he has no business in India.

26. In N.R. Dongre (supra), a Division Bench of this court held "dissemination of knowledge of a trademark in respect of a product through advertisement in media amounts to use of the trademark whether or not the advertisement is coupled with the actual existence of the product in the market". Besides being featured in international magazines as mentioned hereinabove, the plaintiff no 2 has also been covered by several leading Indian publications. Exhibit PW1/25 is an article dated 06.12.2004 from "The Times of India" stating that the plaintiff no 2 seeks to expand its operations to India. The aforesaid coverage of the plaintiff in Indian news and media clearly demonstrates that the reputation of the plaintiff had successfully spilled over into India.

27. Keeping in view the aforesaid, I am of the view that the plaintiffs have established prior use of the trademark since 1995 - when it was first registered, and since 1998 when their services became accessible to Indians via their website. In Caesar Park (supra), it was held that if the plaintiffs have customers in a country, it can be presumed that they enjoy a reputation in that country. Owing to the fact that Indians could access the plaintiff no 2‟s services through its website as far back as in 1998, I am of the view that the same is sufficient to constitute prior use. By virtue of Section 28 of the Act, a registered proprietor of the trademark has the exclusive right to the use of the trademark in relation to the goods and services in respect of which the trademark is registered and to obtain relief against infringement of the trademark.

28. The plaintiff has filed with the present suit a transcript of conversation between a private investigator Mr. Anil Kumar and the defendant no 2 discussing the services offered by defendant no 2. Since the affidavit of Mr. Anil Kumar same has not been tendered in evidence, this court cannot look into the same. However, that aside, PW1 has tendered in evidence exhibit PW1/46 which is a copy of the business card of the defendant no 2 which reads as Sunil Nair, Director, EasyJet Aviation Services Pvt Ltd. which shows that the trade name adopted by the defendants is identical to the plaintiff’s trademark thereby infringing the plaintiffs mark under Section 29(5) of the Act. Furthermore, Exhibit PW1/45 is a printout from the website justdial.com showing the defendants as listed for providing helicopter charter services, aircraft charter services and air ambulance services.

29. The defendants are using the impugned trademark in respect of identical services covered under class 39 in which the plaintiffs enjoy their registration. Therefore, the action of the defendants squarely amounts to infringement under Section 29. Having already established that the plaintiffs enjoy a considerable amount of reputation, there is no iota of doubt that the use of the suit trademark by the defendants in respect of identical services is likely to cause confusion and mislead the public into believing that the services of the defendant are associated with the plaintiff no 2‟s airline.

30. In Allergan Inc (supra), the appellant and respondent were both manufacturing medicinal preparations relating to the eye under the mark „Ocuflox‟. The Supreme Court in Para 9 observed "In the present case, the marks are the same. They are in respect of pharmaceutical products. The mere fact that the Respondents have not been using the mark in India would be irrelevant if they were first in the world market. The Division Bench had relied upon material which prima-facie shows that the Respondents product was advertised before the Appellants entered the field. On the basis of that material the Division Bench has concluded that the Respondents were first to adopt the mark. If that be so then no fault can be found with the conclusion drawn by the Division Bench."

31. It is also pertinent to note that the suit trademark is a coined word. No explanation has been offered by the defendants as to why they chose the suit trademark. The defendants have chosen not to contest the present proceedings and, therefore, the only valid inference that can be drawn is that the defendants adopted the impugned trademark to ride on the plaintiffs‟ goodwill and popularity.

32. In Playboy Enterprises (supra), the plaintiff was the publisher of a widely known magazine under the trademark „Playboy‟. The defendants were publishing a magazine under the mark „Playway‟. The defendants were proceeded ex parte and were permanently restrained by the court from using the mark „Playway‟. The court observed "There is not a scintilla of doubt that the defendants have adopted the word "PLAY" with sole object to exploit and trade on its goodwill and widespread reputation. There is no credible Explanation as to why the word "PLAY" was chosen." In the present case, not only has the prefix „easy‟ been adopted, save the capital „E‟, the entire trademark of the plaintiffs has been appropriated by the defendants as their trade name. In the present case too, no explanation has been offered by the defendants as to why they adopted the impugned trademark.

33. In Yahoo.com v. Akash Arora, 1999 II AD(Delhi)229, it was observed that "Therefore, it is obvious that where the parties are engaged in common or overlapping fields of activity, the competition would take place. If the two contesting parties are involved in the same line or similar line of business, there is grave and immense possibility for confusion and deception and, Therefore, there is probability of sufferance of damage."

34. In the present case too, the plaintiff no 2 and the defendants are operating in the same sphere of activity. The services provided by the plaintiff no 2 and defendants are identical in nature. Therefore, the likelihood of confusion and deception is strong on account of the public at large associating the defendants services to be those offered by the plaintiff no 2. The acts of the defendants in using the impugned trademark coupled with a lack of plausible explanation offered by the defendants for the same, leads to the conclusion that the defendants are in fact passing off their services as those of the plaintiffs in an attempt to cash in on the plaintiff”s reputation worldwide as well as in India.

35. Furthermore, the plaintiff has been vigilant about protecting and defending its intellectual property rights. The plaintiff”s intellectual property rights have also been protected by international dispute resolution bodies such as WIPO. Exhibit PW1/30 is a WIPO administrative panel decision dated 18.03.2003 wherein the respondent was ordered to transfer the domain name easyjets.com to the plaintiff no 1 in the present suit on the grounds that it was confusingly similar to the trademark in which the plaintiff no 1 has rights. Exhibit PW1/30 is an order by the Royal Courts of Justice in London upholding the plaintiff no 1‟s rights in the easy family of trademarks. Similarly, exhibit PW 1/32 is an opposition filed by the plaintiff no 1 in respect of a trademark application filed by a corporation in respect of the mark easy. The decision dated 31.05.2006 upholds the opposition of the plaintiff no 1 herein.

36. Under the aforesaid circumstances, the plaintiffs have successfully established prior use of the suit trademark from the year 1995. Furthermore, the reputation of the plaintiff has spilled over into India, as is evident from the coverage given to the plaintiff no 2 airline by Indian publications and the business generated by the plaintiffs from customers in India. This coupled with the fact that the defendants are using the plaintiff”s coined trademark in respect of services that are covered under Class 39, for which the plaintiffs hold a valid and subsisting registration, I am of the view that the defendants must be permanently restrained from using the plaintiff’s trademark easyJet or any other deceptively similar mark.

37. Accordingly, the suit is decreed in favour of the plaintiffs to the extent of prayers A to C made therein. The plaintiffs are also entitled to damages to the tune of Rs. 5 lacs in addition to costs of the suit to be borne by the defendants.

VIPIN SANGHI, J

AUGUST 19, 2013

 

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