Delhi High Court Dismisses Westend Green Farms Society's Trademark Case Against Neighbouring Farmhouses

The Delhi High Court recently dismissed trademark and passing-off suits against neighbouring farmhouse owners filed by Westend Green Farms Society, which manages a gated farmhouse colony in south Delhi.

The court held that merely displaying the name “WESTEND GREENS” on residential signboards did not amount to trademark infringement, as the use was not shown to be in the course of trade.

A division bench of Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla in a recent judgment upheld orders of the Commercial Court which had rejected the society's plea at threshold.

The bench held that the pleadings failed to disclose the essential facts required to sustain claims of trademark infringement or passing off.

The dispute arose after the society claimed rights over the mark “WESTEND GREENS. It claimed that it has used the name since 1993 and holds trademark registrations for services relating to the welfare and protection of its members.

It objected to neighbouring farmhouse owners at Amaltas Avenue displaying the words “WESTEND GREENS” on signboards outside their properties, alleging that this amounted to infringement and passing off.

The society argued that the farmhouse owners were using the name and logo to increase the value of their properties and to mislead prospective buyers or lessees into believing that the farmhouses formed part of Westend Greens Society. It claimed that such use was commercial in nature and caused confusion among the public.

Rejecting these claims, the High Court held that the pleadings contained only bare assertions and did not explain how the alleged use of the mark was connected to any commercial activity or offering of goods or services.

The bench observed, “It is not mere trade, by the defendant, which attracts Section 29. It is use of the infringing trade mark in the course of trade. Absent any further averments, the mind boggles as to how a commercial activity, assuming it were to be carried out in the respondent's premises, would profit by the use of WESTEND GREENS on the name plate or signboard outside the premises.”

On the claim of passing off, the court noted that the society had failed to identify any goods or services provided by the farmhouse owners or explain how the public was being misled into associating them with the society.

It added, “An allegation of misrepresentation, by itself, cannot make out a cause of action to sustain a passing off suit.”

Finding that no cause of action was disclosed, the court dismissed the appeals and upheld the Commercial Court's orders.