Source : http://syskaledlights.com/
Recently,
in the case titled as “Shree Sant Kripa Intellectual & Anr. Vs. Syska Mobile Semi-Conductors & Ors.” being CS
(COMM) No. 559/2016, the Delhi High Court decreed the suit for infringement of
the trade mark SYSKA and passing
off, and copyright infringement in favour of the Plaintiffs and against the
Defendants. The case was proceeded ex-parte against the Defendants, who did not
appear in Court despite service.
The
peculiar facts of the case are briefly stated as under:-
Brief facts and contentions of the Plaintiff-
·
The Plaintiff no.1
claimed to be a partnership firm and the partners of the Plaintiff no.1 firm
are the directors of the Plaintiff no.2 company.
·
The Plaintiff no.1 firm
claimed to be the proprietor of the trademark “SYSKA” and has issued licenses
in favour of the Plaintiff no.2 company, authorising them to use the said
trademark.
·
The Plaintiff no.1/firm
is claimed to have been constituted in the year 2013 and is stated to be in the
business of manufacturing, selling and distributing LED light products, mobile
phone accessories, services pertaining to downloading of movies on telephones,
insurance of mobile phone etc. The main object of the said firm is stated to be
to develop and maintain intellectual properties, i.e., trademark, copyright,
design, patent etc. and to license the same to its associate entities. The
Plaintiff no. 1/firm has devised various marks such as "SYSKA",
"SYSKA LED light years ahead", "SYSKA LED" lounge,
"SYSKA ACCESSORIES", "SYSKA gadget secure" etc.
·
The trademark “SYSKA” is
stated to have been adopted in the year 2013 by the predecessors-in-interest of
the Plaintiff no.1 and assigned to it along with other pending trademark
applications, and the Plaintiff no.1 firm has sought substitution of its name
in the records of the Registrar of Trademarks.
·
The Plaintiff no.1 firm
also claims to have copyright registrations in the trademarks, "SYSKA
ACCESSORIES" and "SYSKA LED LIGHT YEARS AHEAD" and it claims to
have filed various trademark applications.
·
The Plaintiffs are
claimed to have sold LED light products worth approximately INR 300 crores /
INR 3 Billion (Approx. USD 46.2 Million*). The licensees of the Plaintiff no.1
are further stated to have sold mobile accessories worth INR 68 crores / INR
0.68 Billion (Approx. USD 10.4 Million*). The Plaintiffs are further stated to
have spent considerable amounts in advertising and publishing the trade mark SYSKA and its logo.
·
The Plaintiffs contended
that the trademark SYSKA has become
a household name and that the people associate the said mark exclusively with
the Plaintiffs and its associated entities.
Defendants’ Activities
· The Defendants are
alleged to have hosted a website under the domain name, www.syskamobilecorporation.com,
and are allegedly using the Plaintiff’s SYSKA
logo on the said website and are claiming to have offices in Dubai, Taiwan,
etc.
·
It is further alleged
that upon investigation, it was found that the Defendants are making such
claims with the ulterior motive to cheat the public and cause damage to the
Plaintiffs' reputation.
·
It is alleged by the
Plaintiffs that the Defendants are involved in the business of providing
employment to youngsters after charging huge fees and are engaging in the
practice of assuring employment in the Plaintiffs' firms/companies. The
Plaintiffs are stated to have received information that the Defendants had
approached various institutions like K.N. Modi Foundation etc. seeking campus
placements. It is alleged that such representations made by the Defendants are
false to their knowledge as the Plaintiffs have never authorised them for
making such representations.
·
The Defendants are
alleged to have illegally adopted their trade name, SYSKA for undertaking their activities, including printing t-shirts
with the logo and mark, which is identical to the Plaintiffs' logo. Adoption of
the said trademark/trade name by the Defendants is alleged to be with the
motive of deceiving the public at large.
Decision of The Court
Vide
its order dated April 06, 2015, the Delhi High Court had granted an ex-parte ad
interim injunction in favour of the Plaintiffs and against the Defendants. The
Court had further appointed two Local Commissioners to visit the premises of
the Defendant nos. 1 and 2.
Further,
since the Defendants did not appear despite service, they were proceeded
ex-parte.
Also,
the request of the counsel for the Plaintiffs for giving up the prayers for
order for damages and order for delivery up of infringing material was accepted
by the Court.
The
Plaintiffs filed their ex-parte evidence and proved their averments as well as
copies of the Copyright registrations in favour of the Plaintiffs. The
Plaintiffs further proved that the Plaintiffs' trademark SYSKA is being
advertised through the medium of television and magazine. They have also proved
the screen shots taken from the Defendants’ website www.syskamobilecorporation.com,
and the business activities of the Defendants.
After
hearing the Plaintiffs as well as having perused the papers, the Court was of
the view that due to extensive use over substantial period of time, the
Plaintiffs' trademarks SYSKA and SYSKA logo have acquired reputation and
goodwill in India.
The
Court, on the basis of the evidence on record, held that the Defendants have
been blatantly using the Plaintiff’s name and logo on their website, amounting
to unauthorised reproduction of the Plaintiffs’ trademark and copyrighted logo.
Further,
as per well settled law laid down by the Supreme Court of India, the
Delhi High Court held that as the Plaintiffs' evidence has gone unrebutted,
said evidence is accepted as true and correct.
Consequently,
the Court accepted the allegation that the trademark and logo pertaining to the
name SYSKA being used by Defendants
on their website amounts to infringement of the Plaintiffs' copyright, and, use
of illegal trade activities by the Defendants is bound to cause incalculable
losses, harm and injury to the Plaintiffs and immense public harm. Accordingly, the suit was decreed for
permanent injunction for infringement of the trade mark SYSKA and its variations, in favour of the Plaintiff along with the
actual costs including lawyers’ fees, local commissioner’s fee as well as the
amounts spent on purchasing the court fees. It may be pertinent to note here
that the Plaintiffs gave up their prayers pertaining to delivery up of all infringing
material and for damages of INR 5 Crores / INR 50 Million (Approx. USD 772,022*).
*@1 USD = 64.91 INR
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