Delhi High Court Restrains Sale Of Crompton's Grace Ceiling Fans In Orient Design Infringement Suit

The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted an interim injunction in favour of Orient Electric Limited, restraining Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited from dealing in its 'Grace' series of ceiling fans after finding a prima facie case of infringement of Orient's registered ceiling fan design.

Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, after physically examining both the rival products in court, held that the visual similarity between the two fans was “unmistakable” and noted that Crompton had nowhere in its reply denied that its design was similar to Orient's registered design.

Orient Electric had filed the suit alleging that Crompton's 'Grace' BLDC fan series copied the dominant visual features of its 'AEON' Fan Series, whose design was registered on April 9, 2024 under the Designs Act, 2000.

Orient said the novelty resided in the shape and configuration of the fan, including the blade geometry, hub assembly, motor housing, and decorative lower cap, which together created a distinctive visual identity.

Crompton contested the suit primarily on the ground that Orient's design lacked novelty and originality.

It argued that the AEON fan was merely a mosaic of elements drawn from several prior arts and prior publications, including designs associated with Atomberg, Luker, and Crompton's own earlier design.

Crompton placed before the court a comparative chart mapping individual features of Orient's design against seven different prior arts.

The court rejected this argument, relying on the principle laid down in TTK Prestige Ltd. v. KCM Appliances Pvt. Ltd. that “mosaicing of prior art designs is impermissible” and that novelty cannot be attacked by combining individual elements of different prior designs.

The court noted that none of the seven prior arts cited by Crompton, when viewed as a composite whole, produced the same visual impression as Orient's AEON fan. “None of the cited prior arts disclose all the features protected under the subject design,” the court observed.

The court also noted a significant procedural development that weighed against Crompton.

At the first hearing on March 30, 2026, Crompton's counsel had represented on instructions that the Grace fans had already been launched on or before March 20 across four states.

Relying on this statement, Orient did not press for an immediate ad-interim injunction.

However, documents subsequently filed by Crompton showed that retail sales of the product began only on April 6, 2026, after the first hearing.

The court treated this inconsistency as material and held that it justified granting protection to Orient at this stage.

“Ordinarily, this Court would not have ventured to grant interim injunction against the defendant after the launch of its product, however, the affidavits filed by the defendant alongwith the invoices etc., in the context of the statement of the counsel for the defendant, on instructions, made and recorded in the order dated 30.03.2026 compel the Court to protect the interests of the plaintiff at this stage,” the court said.

On the question of infringement, the court applied the “instructed eye” standard and found the two products substantially similar in their essential features.

“The visual similarity in the overall blade design is unmistakable,” the court noted, adding that the curve at the blade tip, the longitudinal blade profile, and the shape of the bottom cover were matching in both fans. While acknowledging that Crompton's canopies were slightly more dome-shaped compared to Orient's hourglass-like canopy, the court held that “minor or peripheral differences in non-essential features cannot serve as a shield where the essential features of a design seem to be copied.”

Crompton has been restrained from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, advertising, or directly or indirectly dealing in the impugned 'Grace' fan series or any other ceiling fans that are a fraudulent or obvious imitation of Orient's registered design.

Sales already completed will not be disturbed, but no further sales are permitted.

Crompton has also been directed to maintain records of sales from April 6, 2026 onwards and file the details by affidavit in a sealed cover within four weeks.

The matter is next listed on July 17, 2026.