Delhi High Court Dismisses Novamax's Cooler Design Infringement Claim, Keeps Passing Off Suit Alive

The Delhi High court on Friday dismissed Novamax Industries LLP's claim that Prem Appliances infringed its registered cooler design after finding that Novamax's own invoices and website showed the design had been publicly sold and displayed before the design application was filed. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, however, declined to summarily reject Novamax's passing off claim, holding that the issue would require evidence at trial. "It is well nigh impossible for this Court to conclude that the...

Delhi High Court Restrains Sellers For Misusing Flipkart's 'Latching On' Feature In SHAPERMEN Trademark Dispute

The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction against several sellers accused of misusing Flipkart's "Latching On" feature to market products under the SHAPERMEN brand. The court observed that their conduct appeared prima facie calculated to "ride upon the goodwill associated with the Subject Marks" and was likely to cause confusion about the origin of the products. Justice Tejas Karia passed the order in a suit filed by Piyush Sapra and another party associated with the SHAPERMEN...

Delhi High Court Cancels 'D-TAN' Trademark, Holds Mark Descriptive And Non-Distinctive

The Delhi High Court has directed cancellation of the registered trademark 'D-TAN' held by Visage Beauty and Health Care Pvt Ltd, ruling that the mark is descriptive of skin tan removal products and lacks the distinctiveness required for trademark protection.Justice Tushar Rao Gedela allowed a rectification petition filed by Honasa Consumer Ltd, the company behind 'AQUALOGICA'. The Court ordered the Registrar of Trademarks to remove the mark from the register within four weeks.The dispute arose...

Directions To NCLT For Urgent Listing Of Plea Cannot Be Issued In Writ Jurisdiction: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently refused to issue directions to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for urgent listing of a homebuyer's transfer plea in an ongoing insolvency proceeding. The court observed that such directions cannot be issued in exercise of its writ jurisdiction. A vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia dismissed a petition filed by homebuyer Anuj Goyal and imposed costs of ₹25,000, payable to the Delhi High Court Bar Clerks' Association within two weeks. “Such...

Employee Secondment Payments To EY US Satisfy 'Make Available' Test, Taxable As FTS: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on thursday held that payments made by Indian entities to a foreign company for the secondment of employees can be taxed as Fees for Technical Services (FTS) under the India-US Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) if the arrangement satisfies the "make available" test by transferring technical knowledge, skill, or experience to the Indian entity.A Division Bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar allowed appeals filed by the Revenue against Ernst & Young...

Delhi HC Rejects Senior Advocate's Plea For Market-Rate Compensation For Delayed Possession Of DLF Office Units

The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed a senior advocate's appeal seeking higher compensation for the delayed possession of four commercial office units purchased from DLF Home Developers Limited. A Division Bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar upheld compensation at ₹25 per sq. ft. per month. The Court rejected the plea to enhance it to ₹200 per sq. ft. per month on the basis of alleged market rental rates. "The interpretation given by the learned Arbitrator to Clause...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside ₹126.77 Crore Arbitral Award Against NHAI Over Assam Highway Project Dispute

The Delhi High Court on Thursday set aside an arbitral award granting ₹126.77 crore to a highway contractor towards costs and confiscated assets in an Assam road-widening project. The Court held that the arbitral tribunal failed to consider extension-of-time decisions that had rejected those claims. A Division Bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Vinod Kumar, however, upheld awards totalling ₹35.90 crore towards work executed under the contract and loss of profit.The court allowed an...

Delhi High Court Quashes Refusal of 'BIG INDIA' Trademark Registration, Orders Fresh Review

The Delhi High Court has set aside an order refusing registration of the word mark "BIG INDIA", holding that the Trade Marks Registry failed to consider several submissions made by the firm seeking registration and passed an unreasoned order. Justice Jyoti Singh, in an order dated May 22, directed the Senior Examiner of Trade Marks to reconsider the application within four months after granting Purpos Planet an opportunity of hearing. “This methodology of carrying out the examination of a...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Rejection Of Nippon Signal Patent Application For Train Controller Technology

The Delhi High Court has set aside an order refusing a patent application for a train-control system developed by Japanese company The Nippon Signal Co., Ltd., after finding that the Patent Office had not adequately dealt with the company's submissions distinguishing the invention from the cited prior-art documents. Justice Jyoti Singh, in a judgment delivered on May 29, remanded the matter to the Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs for fresh consideration and directed that a decision...

Delhi High Court Restrains Okaya Dealers From Circulating Defamatory Ads Against Microtek Trademarks

The Delhi High Court on 10 June granted an interim injunction and restrained several Okaya dealers and employees from circulating disparaging and defamatory advertisements against the registered trademarks of Microtek International Private Limited. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna heard the matter and restrained Defendants 1 to 6, including authorised dealers, distributors and branch personnel of Okaya operating across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other States, from displaying or circulating the...

Partial Settlement On Interest In Arbitration Not Binding On All Claims: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on 26 May held that a partial settlement reached during arbitral proceedings fixing interest for specific claims cannot bind all pending claims and counter-claims, and the Arbitral Tribunal retains full discretion under Section 31(7)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. A Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh dismissed cross petitions under Section 34 of the Act arising from a dispute between Atlanta Infra Assets Ltd. and the National Highways Authority of India...

Delhi High Court Protects DIZEST Trademark, Bars Use Of “CelsiusDizest” By Celsius Healthcare

The Delhi High Court on 5 June granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of DWD Pharmaceuticals, restraining Celsius Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. from using the trademark “CelsiusDizest” or any other mark deceptively similar to DWD Pharmaceuticals' registered DIZEST mark. A Vacation Bench of Justice Saurabh Banerjee held that the defendant had incorporated the plaintiff's entire mark for identical pharmaceutical products, and that such use was likely to cause confusion. He observed: “The...