Supreme Court Stays Patna HC Order Restraining Local Company From Using “JOHNSON” Trademark, Issues Notice
Kirit Singhania
7 May 2026 12:48 PM IST
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Patna High Court's April 24, 2026 order granting a temporary injunction restraining Johnson Paints Pvt. Ltd. from manufacturing, selling, or advertising paint and cement paint products under the “JOHNSON” mark or any deceptively similar variant in an ongoing trademark dispute with Johnson Paints Co.
A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, while issuing notice, directed Johnson Paints Pvt Ltd to furnish an undertaking that it would compensate Johnson Paints Co. if it ultimately loses before the Supreme Court. The Court also directed the company to maintain accounts of the business carried on during the pendency of the proceedings.
“In the meantime, the operation of the impugned judgment shall remain stayed subject to furnishing an undertaking by the petitioner before the Registrar (Judicial) of this Court that in case the petitioner loses in this special leave petition, he will compensate the respondent for the business which has been made during the period of the order impugned and till decision of this Court. The accounts of business shall be maintained separately and be produced before the Court, if directed.", the Court said.
Background
The dispute concerns competing claims over the “JOHNSON” trademark used for paints and cement paint products in Bihar. Johnson Paints Co. claimed that its founder Late Krishna Prasad had adopted the mark in 1987 and continuously used it since then, while Johnson Paints Pvt Ltd asserted rights through a chain of assignment deeds allegedly tracing back to 1990.
In 2023, Johnson Paints Co. filed a commercial suit seeking injunction against the defendant for passing off and deceptive use of similar marks. The Patna Commercial Court on November 16, 2024 refused interim injunction, holding that the plaintiff had failed to prima facie establish prior use and goodwill.
However, the Patna High Court observed that invoices, tax records, and advertisements prima facie supported the plaintiff's claim of use since 1987-88, while also finding serious discrepancies in the assignment deeds relied upon by the defendant company, which itself was incorporated only on December 22, 2009.
The High Court restrained Johnson Paints Pvt Ltd and its agents from manufacturing, selling or advertising products under the “JOHNSON” mark or any deceptively similar variant.