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Khadi and Village Industries Vs M S JBMR Enterprises On 4 June 2021
Khadi and Village Industries Vs M S JBMR Enterprises On 4 June 2021
versus
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA
ORDER
% 04.06.2021
11. The application is allowed, subject to the Plaintiff filing the exempted
CS(COMM) 284/2021
13. Let the plaint be registered as a suit.
14. Upon filing of process fee, issue summons to the Defendant by all
permissible modes. Summons shall state that the written statement shall be
filed by the Defendant within 30 days from the date of receipt of summons.
Along with the written statement, the Defendant shall also file an affidavit of
admission/denial of the documents of the Plaintiff, without which the written
statement shall not be taken on record.
16. List before the Joint Registrar for marking of exhibits on 9th August,
2021. It is made clear that any party unjustifiably denying documents would
be liable to be burdened with costs.
I.A. 7414/2021 (u/O 39 Rules 1 and 2 r/w Section 151 of the CPC, 1908
seeking interim injunction)
18. The Plaintiff has filed the present application for permanent
injunction restraining infringement of trademark and copyright, passing off,
rendition of accounts, damages, delivery-up, etc. The Plaintiff is a statutory
body established under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of
21. In February 2021, the Plaintiff came across the Defendant’s paints
under the marks “KHADI PRAKRITIK PAINT”, “PRAKRITIK PAINT”
and “VEDICA PRAKRITIK PAINT” (the ‘impugned marks’). A
comparison of the Plaintiff’s product with the Defendant’s product, in
paragraph 47 of the plaint, clearly indicated that the Defendant has not only
adopted an identical mark but has also copied the entire trade dress and
packaging of the Plaintiff’s products, both in respect of distemper and
emulsion varieties and is simply selling counterfeit versions of the Plaintiff’s
products. Upon further investigation, the Plaintiff discovered that the
Defendant had also filed trademark applications for VEDICA PRAKRITIK
23. It is also submitted by the Plaintiff’s counsel that on its website, the
Defendant displays the official logo of the Ministry of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises under the Government of India, (the MSME logo)
without any authority, in order to mislead the general public into believing
that the Defendant is a Government-affiliate. When on 21st May, 2021, the
Plaintiff’s investigator telephonically contacted the Defendant, enquiring
about the products bearing the impugned marks, Defendant informed that he
has two varieties of paints - Distemper paints and Emulsion paints, available
in 10 litre and 20 litre bucket sizes, of which 20 litre bucket of distemper
25. On the basis of the material placed on record, the court is of the
opinion that the Plaintiff has established a prima facie case in its favour. The
balance of convenience also lies in favour of the Plaintiff and irreparable
loss would be caused to the Plaintiff, in case interim injunction is not
granted. Accordingly, till the next date of hearing, the Defendant, its
proprietors, partners, servants, representatives, agents and all others acting
for and on its behalf are –
a. Restrained from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, or
advertising products or operating a website and any social media
accounts under the trademark KHADI, amounting to infringement
thereof.
SANJEEV NARULA, J
JUNE 4, 2021
nd