This suit has been filed for permanent injunction restraining the defendants and their men from manufacturing, selling, advertising and offering for sale using same or similar get up and colour scheme used by the defendants and trade mark LION Brand or TIGER Brand or any other similar Trade Mark, which is in any way visually or deceptively or phonetically similar to the plaintiff's Trade Mark "LION BRAND PAPPAD" and "LION BRAND TAPICO WAFFERS" and to surrender to the plaintiff all connected materials bearing the above brand names and also to render accounts.
2. The plaintiff commenced her business in the year 1971 as the proprietary concern. Over the years, the plaintiff has grown into one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of pappads and Appalams in India. The Trade Mark Lion Brand has become now a common house hold name for pappad and appalam. The Trade Mark Lion Brand is a well known and is very popular and valuable good will and substantial reputation has been built up by the plaintiff. The Trade Mark Lion Brand has become very popular and is a very valuable intellectual property of the plaintiff. The turn over of the plaintiff is more than 11 crores in the year 2007. The plaintiff also applied for the registration of the label mark of the Lion Brand Pappad on 20.07.2005.
3. The plaintiff has also registered his artistic works with the copyright office on 13.06.2008 under the title of Lion Brand Pappad with device of Lion's face and flowers in English and Lion Brand Tapicowafers in English and Tamil with device of Lion's space and two wheels. The plaintiff came across the unregistered Trade Mark Tiger Brand in respect of the first defendant's goods like Pappad, Appalam and its allied goods, in the same colour scheme and get up which is a blatant infringement of the plaintiff's Trade Mark, which she has been using for several years. This is only with an intention to get benefit from the good will of the plaintiff. Similarly, the plaintiff came to know that the defendants 2 to 5 passing off the trade mark of plaintiff "Lion Brand Pappad" in respect of their goods like pappad, appalam and its allied goods.
4. The products manufactured by both the plaintiff and defendants are being sold through the same trade channels. The defendants have knowledge of the nature and scope of the plaintiff's business and manufacturing activities bearing the trade mark Lion Brand Pappad. The defendants have no valid reasons whatsoever to use the mark, which is visually, phonetically and deceptively identical to that of the plaintiff's trade mark. Therefore, the suit has been filed.
5. The defendants were called absent and set exparte. P.W.1 has been examined and 20 Exhibits have been marked on the side of the plaintiff. Ex.P.3 and Ex.P.4 are the original label of the plaintiffs "Lion Brand Pappad" and "Lion Brand Tapico wafers". Ex.P.5 is the Auditor Certificate, dated 31.03.2008 regarding the sales and advertisement expenses from 1981 to 2007 of the plaintiff. Ex.P.10 series is the copy right for the Registration Certificate of the plaintiff. Ex.P.11, Ex.P.14, Ex.P.16, Ex.P.18 and Ex.P.20 are the impugned labels of the defendants 1 to 5.
6. Through the evidence of P.W.1 and the above Exhibits, the plaintiff has established his claim. The balance of convenience is also in favour of the plaintiff. Therefore, the plaintiff is entitled to the reliefs as claimed for.
P.KALAIYARASAN, J tsvn In the result, the suit is decreed as prayed for with costs.
17.03.2017 Index : Yes / No tsvn C.S.No.568 of 2009 http://www.judis.nic.in