Delhi High Court Disposes 40 Yrs Old Dispute Concerning Infringement Of 'FIELD MARSHAL' Trademark

The Delhi High Court has recently disposed of a 40 year old dispute concerning the infringement of “Field Marshal” trademark.

Justice Prathiba M Singh decreed a suit filed by an entity, PM Diesels Private Limited in 1985 seeking to injunct another entity, Thukral Mechanical Works from using 'Fieldmarshal' or any other mark deceptively similar to its mark.

PM Diesels claimed that it was the registered proprietor of the mark “Fieldmarshal” written in a particular style which was used since August 1965.

The court concluded that P.M. Diesels was the prior user of the mark 'FIELDMARSHAL' in respect of diesel oil engines as also centrifugal pumps, monoblock pumps and submersible pumps and other related products.

Justice Singh rejected a suit filed in 1992 by one Sunita Rani seeking to permanently injunction Nitin Machine Tools Private Limited and PM Diesels from using the trademark in question.

Furthermore, the court cancelled the registration of the mark in favour of Thukral Mechanical Works and said that it is liable to be removed from the Trade Marks register.

The court also ordered that the trademark applications filed by PM Diesels for registration of the mark in different languages shall proceed for registration.

“The battle between P.M. Diesels and Thukral Mechanical Works has been a long-drawn battle spanning over 40 years. Substantial costs have been incurred by P.M. Diesels to protect the mark 'FIELDMARSHAL' and to defend itself against the various proceedings filed by Thukral Mechanical Works,” the court said.

It added: “This litigation has not only imposed substantial financial burden on P.M. Diesels in its efforts to protect the 'FIELDMARSHAL' mark but has also engaged this Court's resources considerably. More than 20 hearings at the final arguments stage have been spent by this Court to resolve the complex set of issues arising between the parties.”

Title: M/S. P.M. DIESELS P. LTD v. M/S. THUKRAL MECHANICAL WORKS & ORS. and other connected matters

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 422

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