Gujarat High Court Sets Aside Order Restraining Trademark Owners From Using Own Mark, Calls It 'Grave Error'

The Gujarat High court has set aside a temporary injunction restraining the registered proprietors of the trademark "Aditya Jewellers" from using their own registered mark, ruling that the Commercial court in Rajkot committed "a grave error of law" by granting the relief. The court observed that the trial court had assessed the reliability of the appellants' evidence at the interim stage, even though "no mini trial can be conducted" while deciding an application for temporary injunction.A...

Delhi High Court Restrains Use Of 'COBEX' Mark In GlaxoSmithKline's Trademark Suit Over 'COBADEX'

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained Orion Biotech Pvt. Ltd. and two other entities associated with the manufacture of a paediatric antibiotic sold under the mark 'COBEX' from using the mark. The order came in a trademark infringement suit filed by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited (GSK), which claims that 'COBEX' is deceptively similar to its registered trademark 'COBADEX', used for its multi-vitamin drug.Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani observed that GSK had "made-out a prima...

Effect of Part Payments On Dishonoured Cheques Cannot Be Decided In Revision Against Summoning Order: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that whether dishonoured cheques continued to represent a legally enforceable debt after the drawer made admitted part payments is a disputed question of fact that must be decided at trial. Justice Madhu Jain observed that the issue depends on the evidence led by the parties and cannot be conclusively determined while exercising revisional jurisdiction against a summoning order. "Whether, in view of the admitted part payments, the statutory requirement under...

Delhi High Court Restrains Patna Firm From Using 'Nintendo India Private Limited' Name

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained a Patna-registered real estate company from using the name 'Nintendo India Private Limited' in a trademark infringement suit filed by Japanese gaming company Nintendo Co. Ltd. Justice Jyoti Singh ruled that the company's adoption of the name was "with an objective of encashing on the goodwill and reputation of the Plaintiff." The court observed that the company appeared to be trying to create the impression that it was associated with Nintendo,...

Stamp Duty On Loan Assignment To ARC Must Be Based On Debt Assigned, Not Property Value: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently ruled that stamp duty on the assignment of loans to an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) under the state government's March 7, 2005 Notification must be calculated at 0.1% of the loan securitised or debt assigned and not on the market value of the mortgaged property.Holding that the notification links stamp duty to the loan securitised or debt assigned rather than the value of the secured property, Justice Maninder S. Bhatti observed,"A perusal of the...

SARFAESI Auction Purchaser Can't Be Treated As Unauthorised Occupant Under State Eviction Law: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, Gwalior Bench, has dismissed a writ petition filed by the M.P. Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (MPIDC). The court held that an auction purchaser under the SARFAESI Act cannot be treated as an unauthorised occupant under the M.P. Lok Parisar (Bedakhali) Adhiniyam, 1974 merely because disputes later arise over transfer of leasehold rights or liability for earlier dues.Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke observed, "Its possession, therefore, cannot be equated with...

Emden Formula For Calculating Construction Contract Damages Can't Apply To Dealership Agreements: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has recently held that the Emden formula, developed to quantify damages in construction contracts, cannot ordinarily be used to assess compensation in disputes arising from automobile dealership agreements.A Division Bench of Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi observed that the formula is rooted in the unique features of construction contracts and cannot be mechanically extended to commercial distribution arrangements. "A dealership agreement is a...

Though Mandatory, 75% Pre-Deposit To Challenge MSME Award Need Not Accompany Plea: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur has held that while a 75% pre-deposit under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (MSME Act) is mandatory for challenging an arbitral award, courts can grant reasonable time to make the deposit instead of insisting that it accompany the challenge at the time of filing. The court said the statutory requirement must be met before a petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is heard on merits, and, in...

Delhi High Court Rejects Third Party's Impleadment Plea in Cipla's 'NO DARAR' Trademark Restoration Case

The Delhi High Court has dismissed applications filed by a third party seeking to be impleaded in a writ petition filed by Cipla Limited over the restoration of its 'NO DARAR' trademark. Holding that the applicant was "a rank outsider nowhere related and/or even remotely connected with the facts" of the case, the court found that it had no locus to be added as a party.Justice Saurabh Banerjee was hearing an application seeking impleadment along with a connected application seeking recall of the...

NI Act Notice Not Invalid Merely Because Postal Acknowledgment Signature Differs From Cheque: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently ruled that once a complainant shows that a legal demand notice in a cheque bounce case was sent to the accused's correct address, a trial court cannot treat the notice as invalid merely because the signature on the postal acknowledgment card differs from the signature on the dishonoured cheque.Justice A. Badharudeen said allowing such an approach would make it easy for accused persons to avoid liability. "If such a procedure is recognized in law, clever accused...

Denying Auction Purchasers Writ Remedy To Enforce S.14, SARFAESI Orders Would Be 'Travesty of Justice': Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that auction purchasers under the SARFAESI Act can invoke the writ jurisdiction to seek enforcement of orders passed by a Magistrate under Section 14 of the Act.Holding that auction purchasers have the locus to seek such relief, a division bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram V. Shirsat said refusing to entertain such petitions would erode public confidence in the rule of law."If the writ Court shuts its doors to the auction purchasers like the petitioners,...

Bombay High Court Rejects IT Appeals Over Search Assessment Based On Regular Books Instead Of Search Material

The Bombay High Court has dismissed two appeals filed by the Income Tax Department, upholding an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal order that deleted additions made to a company's completed income tax assessments after finding they were not based on incriminating material recovered during a search. The court found that no substantial question of law arose for consideration. A division bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe agreed with the tribunal that the Assessing Officer had...