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Fake 'Kajaria Tiles' Dealership: Delhi High Court Grants Interim Relief In Trademark & Copyright Infringement Suit
Prateek Chakraverty
24 Jan 2022 7:15 AM GMT
Finding prima facie case in favour of Kajaria Ceramics, the Delhi High Court has issued a temporary injunction under Order 39 of CPC, restraining the Defendant from infringing the tile manufacturer's registered trade marks, copyright, domain names, etc.While granting interim relief, Justice Amit Bansal observed,"Defendant no.5 is defrauding the public by deceiving them into believing that...
Finding prima facie case in favour of Kajaria Ceramics, the Delhi High Court has issued a temporary injunction under Order 39 of CPC, restraining the Defendant from infringing the tile manufacturer's registered trade marks, copyright, domain names, etc.
While granting interim relief, Justice Amit Bansal observed,
"Defendant no.5 is defrauding the public by deceiving them into believing that they are associated with the plaintiff and authorized to grant dealership on behalf of the plaintiff. In this regard, defendant no.5 is also seeking personal documents such as Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, bank accounts statement etc. from dealership aspirants, which can be misused further in defrauding such people."
Defendant no. 5 is accused of creating a fraudulent website, offering fake Kajaria tiles dealership.
The Plaintiff alleged that Defendant's website had incorporated all distinctive elements from the Plaintiff's website and is charging Rs.10,00,000/- towards grant of fake dealership of Kajaria.
Ruling
The High Court found that the three essential elements in Order 39 of the CPC for grant of temporary injunction viz., prima facie case in favor of the Plaintiff, the balance of convenience in favor of the Plaintiff, and irreparable injury caused to the Plaintiff if the injunction is not granted, stand satisfied.
The factors leading to this conclusion included as follows:
1. Defendant is defrauding the public by deceiving them into believing that they are associated with the Plaintiff;
2. The Defendant is deceiving the public into granting dealership on behalf of the Plaintiff;
3. Defendant is seeking important ID details such as PAN Card, Aadhar Card, Bank account statements for potential misuse to defraud such people.
Thus, the Court ordered,
"Defendant No.5, by themselves, their partners, proprietors, agents, servants, representatives, employees and/or any one claiming under them, directly or indirectly, is restrained from infringing the plaintiff's registered trade marks, Kajaria and variations thereof, copyright in its brand logo and website content and from using any domain names, website, emails Ids, business paper, corporate stamps, business listings, social media accounts etc. or any other similar business identification."
It also issued directives to the other Defendants – the Authorities and the seller of the domain names, Godaddy.com, to disclose all details of the purported infringers, to freeze their bank accounts, and disable their mobile numbers.
At the same time, it gave liberty to Plaintiff to implead any other domain name/website/bank account/mobile number connected with the cause of action during the pendency of the suit. It directed that this Order shall also be applicable against such identities.
Case Title: Kajaria Ceramics Limited v. Godaddy.com LLC & Ors.; CS(COMM) 35/2022
