IP Cases — 2014
111 decisions across all jurisdictions
Page 3 of 4 · 111 total
Tekla Corporation v.Survo Ghosh
The plaintiffs, Tekla Corporation, sued the defendants for unauthorized installation and use of their copyrighted software, Tekla Structures. The defendants raised a defense of 'copyright misuse,' arguing that the plaintiffs' licensing terms were restrictive and anti-competitive. The court rejected this defense, holding that Indian law does not recognize copyright misuse as a valid statutory or equitable defence.
M/S Parimal Mandir v.Bharat Vasi Sugandhit Dhoop & Ors
The Delhi High Court ruled in favor of M/S Parimal Mandir, a leading manufacturer of incense sticks, finding that the defendants were engaging in passing off and intellectual property infringement. The court found that the defendants' use of deceptively similar trade dress, packaging, and branding for their Dhoop products created an overall visual impression likely to mislead consumers into believing the goods originated from the plaintiff. Consequently, a decree was passed granting permanent injunctions against the defendants and ordering the destruction of infringing materials.
Narendra Srivastava v.Ashok Chaturvedi
The plaintiff filed a suit alleging groundless threats based on a pending patent application held by defendant no.1. Defendant no.1 sought to be struck out as a party, arguing he had assigned his rights and was not involved in the alleged threat. The court dismissed this application, holding that since the claim derived from defendant no.1's original application and he resided within the court's jurisdiction, he remained a necessary party.
Levi Strauss & Company v.Shree Ganesh Garments
Levi Strauss & Company filed a suit against Shree Ganesh Garments alleging clandestine manufacturing, storing, distributing, and retailing apparel under deceptively similar trademarks to 'Levi's'. The plaintiff claimed ownership of several registered trademarks related to its clothing line. The court found the defendant guilty of blatant trademark infringement and granted comprehensive relief in favor of the plaintiff.
Microsoft Corporation v.Karan Puri Prop. Of M/S Puri Computers
Microsoft Corporation filed a suit against Karan Puri Prop. Of M/S Puri Computers alleging that the defendant was infringing their copyrights by unauthorized hard-disk loading of Microsoft Windows and Office software onto branded computers sold to customers. The plaintiffs sought a permanent injunction, delivery-up of copies, and damages for piracy. Despite the defendant remaining ex-parte throughout the proceedings, the Delhi High Court found sufficient uncontroverted material on record to sustain the claim.
Rajendra Singh Shekawat v.M/S Shrinath Heritage Liquor Pvt Ltd
The Rajasthan High Court dismissed the appeal filed by Rajendra Singh Shekawat against an order that denied a temporary injunction. The plaintiff, holding registered trademarks MAHARAJA MAHANSAR and MAHARANI MAHANSAR, alleged infringement by the defendant's use of 'Mahansar D.J. Special.' While the court acknowledged the similarity in the word 'MAHANSAR,' it held that determining whether this commonality constitutes deceptive similarity or infringement is a complex question of fact requiring evidence from a regular trial. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, but the defendant was directed to provide production and sales accounts to facilitate potential restitution if the plaintiff succeeds later.
Kamat Hotels (India) Limited v.Royal Orchid Hotels Limited
Kamat Hotels challenged the Intellectual Property Appellate Board's decision to dismiss its rectification application, arguing that the rival mark 'Royal Orchid' infringed upon its well-known trademark 'The Orchid'. The Madras High Court upheld the IPAB's finding, concluding that the respondent had established prior use of their mark. The court emphasized that proceedings before a higher court are liable to be stayed during pending appellate proceedings under Section 124 of the Trade Marks Act.
Rspl Health Private Limited v.M/S. Deep Industry
The Delhi High Court confirmed an ex-parte interim injunction in favor of Rspl Health Private Limited against M/S. Deep Industry. The plaintiff successfully demonstrated a strong prima facie case, asserting that the defendant's use of the 'POSH' label was deceptively similar to its registered trademark and artistic work, 'XPERT.' Despite the defendant raising objections regarding jurisdiction and delay, the court found both arguments untenable, upholding the initial order against infringement and passing off.
Neo Milk Products Private Limited v.Neo Foods Private Limited
The Delhi High Court upheld an interim injunction favoring Neo Foods Private Limited (the registered trademark owner) against Neo Milk Products Private Limited. The court found that the plaintiff had established a reputation for its registered mark 'NEO' under Class 29, and the defendant's use of the identical mark in relation to milk products was likely to dilute the distinctive character of the original mark. Crucially, the court dismissed the defense of prior use (Section 34) because the appellant failed to provide prima facie evidence of continuous usage predating the plaintiff's registration.
G.M.Bell Health Care Pvt.Ltd v.Universal Skin Impex Pvt Ltd
The Gujarat High Court upheld the trial court's decision granting an interim injunction in favor of G.M.Bell Health Care Pvt.Ltd against Universal Skin Impex Pvt Ltd. The dispute centered on the use of product names and trademarks for various medicines, where the appellant claimed ownership via a 2005 assignment deed. The court found no illegality in the trial court's order, allowing the plaintiff to continue restraining infringement while noting that the final decision remains subject to pending litigation before the Bombay High Court.
Symed Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. v.Sharon Bio-Medicine Ltd. And Ors.
Symed Laboratories filed a suit for permanent injunction against Defendants, alleging infringement of their patents (IN 213062 and IN 213063) related to novel processes for preparing Linezolid. Defendant No. 3 moved an application seeking amendment of its written statement, arguing that it was merely purchasing the product from the market and not manufacturing it using the patented process. The Court partly allowed the amendment.
National Research Development Corporation v.M/S Industrial Carbon And Ors.
The dispute arose from a license granted by NRDC (a public sector enterprise) to M/S Industrial Carbon for manufacturing SIG contacts. The parties contested an arbitration award dated 28.05.2009 regarding royalty payments and damages. The Delhi High Court partially sustained the award, while setting aside the portion that denied NRDC's claim for royalty during the initial production period, remitting those claims back to the arbitrator.
Teijin Limited v.Union of India Through The Secretary, Department of Industry, Ministry of Industry and Commerce
Teijin Limited filed a writ petition seeking to quash orders that declared its Patent No. 207883 as ceased due to non-payment of renewal fees (annuities). The Petitioner argued that payments for various annuities, including the 3rd to 9th and 10th year, were made but incorrectly recorded by the Patent Office. The Court found in favor of the Petitioner, directing the restoration of the patent.
Krbl Ltd. v.Pk Overseas Pvt Ltd
The Delhi High Court overturned a lower court's decision regarding an application for interim injunction in a passing off dispute concerning rice brands. The appeal focused on the deceptive similarity of color combinations, not just the marks themselves. The High Court found that the trial court failed to adequately address the crucial elements of reputation and consumer confusion before dismissing the injunction request. Consequently, the case was remanded back to the trial court for a fresh hearing after both parties submit necessary documentation.
Nokia Corporation v.Bharat Bhogilal Patel
Nokia Corporation filed a suit seeking a declaration of non-infringement against Bharat Bhogilal Patel, who claimed that Nokia's use of laser marking technology infringed his patents. The court examined evidence showing that the laser engraving process is a known and available technology since 1957, and found that the defendant's actions were groundless threats.
Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd v.Midley Pharmaceuticals Limied
This Calcutta High Court case involves a passing-off dispute between Sun Pharmaceuticals and Midley Pharmaceuticals concerning the trademarks CARDIVAS and CARVAS. The court framed ten detailed issues, focusing on whether the plaintiff is the proprietor of CARDIVAS, whether the defendant's mark CARVAS is confusingly similar or an imitation, and ultimately, whether the defendant is engaging in passing off. The case was fixed for settlement of these complex trademark infringement claims.
Dolphin Laboratories P. Ltd. v.Deputy Registrar Of Trademark
The Calcutta High Court addressed an appeal filed by Dolphin Laboratories P. Ltd. against the Deputy Registrar of Trademark. The petitioner argued that the appeal should be transferred to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) due to amendments made to the Trade Mark Act, 1999. Consequently, the court recorded the disposal of TMA No. 2195 of 1995.
Banyan Tree Holding (P) Limited v.Jamshyad Sethna And Anr
The Delhi High Court permitted Banyan Tree Holding to amend its original suit for passing off and unfair competition. The plaintiff sought to incorporate claims for trademark infringement based on new registrations that occurred during the pendency of the case. The court held that since the registration happened subsequently, and allowing the amendment was necessary to determine the real controversy without causing prejudice to the defendants, the application under Order VI Rule 17 CPC was allowed.
M/s.Aachi Masala Foods (P) Ltd. v.Aachi Aappakadai Chettinad A/c Restaurant
The Madras High Court dismissed the applicants' requests for an interim injunction, ruling that the trademark 'AACHI' is a common Tamil word associated with Chettinad cuisine. The court held that since the mark was deemed common, the applicants could not prevent others from using it in their restaurant business unless they could prove secondary meaning through evidence during trial. While the respondent was allowed to use the name 'AACHI', they were prohibited from adopting the applicant's registered oval-shaped label mark.
Merck Serono S.A. v.Union Of India & Ors.
Merck Serono S.A. challenged the Controller of Patents & Design's decision to declare its patent application abandoned under Section 21(1) of the Patent Act, 1970. The petitioner argued that it had actively pursued the application by responding to both the First and Second Examination Reports. The High Court ruled in favor of the petitioner, holding that active pursuit negates abandonment.
Crayons Advertising Ltd v.Crayon Advertising
The Delhi High Court granted an ad interim injunction in favor of Crayons Advertising Ltd against Crayon Advertising regarding trademark and domain name infringement. The court found that the defendant's use of a substantially similar domain name, 'www.crayonadv.com,' was likely to cause confusion and irreparable harm to the plaintiff, who had established itself as a prominent user of the mark 'CRAYONS' since 1986. This ruling underscores the importance of protecting prior users in the digital space against deceptive similarity.
Drs Logistics (P) Ltd. v.Sandeep Chohan @ Sandeep Kumar & Ors.
The Delhi High Court addressed an application for an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in a trademark infringement suit involving 'Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd.' The court noted the delay (40-50 days) between when the plaintiff became aware of the alleged misuse and when the suit was filed. Despite citing precedents that allow injunctions despite delay, the judge held that because the delay was relatively short, granting an immediate ex-parte order would cause greater mischief to the defendants than waiting for them to be served notice. Consequently, the court denied the interim injunction and directed proper service of summons.
Arif Abdul Kader Fazlani v.Hitesh Raojibhai Patel & Co & 1
The plaintiff sought permission to withdraw the Civil Suit No. 1 of 2012. The court granted this permission, disposing of the main suit as withdrawn. However, the defendants' counterclaim, which sought the revocation of Patent No. 226534 under Section 64 of the Patents Act, 1970, was held to survive for adjudication.
hitkari potteries ltd v.hitkari ceramics private limited
Hitkari Potteries Ltd. sued Hitkari Ceramics Private Limited for infringement and passing off, alleging unauthorized use of the trademark 'HITKARI' in the defendant’s trading style, domain name (www.hitkariceramics.com), and business related to bone china crockery products, despite the plaintiff having established a long-standing reputation and significant investment in the mark.
K.R. Ravi Rathinam v.The Director General Of Police and others
The petitioner, K.R. Ravi Rathinam, filed a Writ Petition seeking a detailed inquiry by police authorities into the alleged theft and unauthorized use of his story ('Mullai Vanam 999') in another film ('Linga'). The court dismissed the petition, holding that the dispute was private and that the appropriate remedy for intellectual property claims is through a Civil Suit or Criminal Law proceedings, not under Article 226.
Sergi Transformer Explosion Prevention Technologies Pvt Ltd v.Kumar Pratap Anil & Ors.
The plaintiff filed a suit seeking permanent injunction and damages for infringing Indian Patent No. 189089 related to transformer explosion prevention technologies. The defendants challenged the maintainability of the suit, arguing that the plaintiff's alleged exclusive license was invalid, back-dated, and unregistered.
K.R.Ravi Rathinam v.The Director General of Police, and others (listed as R.1 to R.11)
The appellant claimed his story 'Mullai Vanam 999', which he uploaded to YouTube in 2013, was illegally used and infringed upon in the film 'Lingaa' by respondents 7, 8, 10, and 11. The court initially held that a writ petition was not the proper remedy for such private disputes. However, considering the circumstances, the court directed the seventh respondent to deposit Rs. 10 Crores and allowed the release of the film 'LINGAA' upon initial deposit.
Cargill India Pvt. Ltd. v.Quality Agro Mills Pvt. Ltd.
The Delhi High Court ruled in favor of Cargill India Pvt. Ltd., confirming the permanent injunction against Quality Agro Mills Pvt. Ltd. for trademark infringement and passing off. The court found that the defendant was illegally using a deceptively similar mark, thereby capitalizing on the goodwill established by 'Nature Fresh.' Furthermore, due to the defendant's deliberate evasion of court proceedings, the plaintiff was awarded damages amounting to Rs. 5.0 lacs.
M/S Instapower Ltd. v.Ramesh Chopra & Ors.
Instapower Ltd., dealing in energy-efficient lighting under the Insta Power brand, filed a suit seeking permanent injunction and declaration that Defendant No. 4's claims regarding sole ownership of LED aviation obstruction light patents were false. The dispute centered on conflicting patent rights concerning LED Aviation Obstruction Lights (AOL).
Bayer Corporation v.Union Of India & Ors
The application sought permission to export 1 kg of API Sorafenib (Sorafenat), which was manufactured under a compulsory license granted to NPL. Bayer challenged this export, arguing it constituted a commercial transaction and violated the terms of the compulsory license. The Court ultimately held that the export for regulatory approval purposes falls within the exception provided by Section 107A.
Facing a similar IP matter?
Arctic Invent is a specialist IP firm with deep litigation expertise across India, EU, US, and UK. Our team uses data-driven strategy to build stronger cases.