Madras High Court Revives 'Modern Kitchens' Trademark Scrapped Over Technicality

In 2018, ACE Foods filed a trademark application, which Modern Snacks Pvt Limited opposed in late 2019. In June 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, ACE Foods filed its evidence affidavit within the legal timeframe but was unable to have it signed or notarised due to nationwide lockdown restrictions.

The court noted that the proceedings then went into "hibernation" for several years. In 2024, after paying a fee to expedite the process, ACE Foods filed an interlocutory application to replace the unsigned document with a notarized version.

However, the Registrar rejected this request and declared the entire trademark application abandoned, reasoning that the company had failed to file a proper affidavit within the pandemic-extended limitation periods.

The High Court criticised the Registrar's conduct, stating the process adopted "smacks with arbitrariness". The bench observed that the Registrar had contributed to the delay by failing to issue any notice or direction to rectify the document between 2020 and 2024.

"The 1st respondent [Registrar] who has also contributed for the delay cannot be allowed to throw the blame delay on the appellant and defeat their rights," the court remarked.

In its ruling, the court made several specific findings regarding the application of Rule 46(2) of the Trade Mark Rules. Sub-rule (2) provides that if an opponent takes no action to file evidence within the prescribed time, they are deemed to have abandoned their opposition.

The court found that ACE Foods clearly intended to prosecute its case because it had managed to file the unsigned affidavit even during the lockdown. It noted that the opponent, Modern Snacks, had already filed a reply to the unsigned affidavit in August 2020. Therefore, no prejudice was caused to the other side by taking the rectified version on record now.

The bench stated that the 2024 filing was merely a "formal rectified affidavit" containing the same contents as the 2020 document. The court clarified that procedural provisions must be "read down" so that a failure to file evidence results only in the loss of the right to lead that evidence, rather than the "evisceration" of the entire trademark application.

Accordingly, the court concluded that on the peculiar facts of this case, the affidavit must be treated as having been filed on time in June 2020.

The High Court has directed the Trademark Registry to proceed with ACE Foods' application and pass final orders within six months.

For ACE Foods: Advocate Rajesh Ramanathan

For Registrar of Trade Marks: Standing counsel M.Karthikeyan

For Modern Snacks Pvt Limited: Advocates Gladys Daniel and Somnath De