Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Use Of 'Elitecourt' Mark In Passing Off Dispute With Glossy Color

The Delhi High Court has restrained a firm operating under the mark 'Elitecourt' from manufacturing, selling, or advertising products under that brand, holding that Glossy Color and Paints Pvt. Ltd. had made out a prima facie case of passing off.

Justice Tushar Rao Gedela declined to grant relief on the allegation of trademark infringement, noting that 'Elitecourt' is itself a registered trademark. The plaintiffs have already moved the High Court seeking cancellation of that registration.

The interim protection was therefore confined to the passing-off claim.

Examining the rival marks, the Court observed that 'Elitecourt' "incorporates and subsumes" the plaintiffs' registered trademark 'Elite'. It rejected the defendant's contention that the word 'Court' formed the core of its brand identity, observing that the expression appeared descriptive of its sports court-flooring business.

The plaintiffs, part of the Glossy Group of Industries, stated that they have been manufacturing and marketing paints and allied products since 1938 and have used the 'Elite' mark since 2001. Court records showed that the trademark remains valid and that the company had placed sales figures, advertising expenditure, and promotional material on record to demonstrate goodwill and reputation in the market.

A factor that weighed with the Court was the defendant's application for registration of 'Elitecourt' in June 2023 on a "proposed to be used" basis. By then, the plaintiffs had already built substantial goodwill in the 'Elite' brand, the Court noted.

Finding a likelihood of confusion, the Court said both sides dealt in similar or allied products, used common trade channels and targeted the same class of purchasers.

An "unwary consumer with average intelligence and imperfect recollection," it observed, could be led to believe that the defendants' products originated from, or were connected with, the plaintiffs.

Pending further proceedings, the defendants have been restrained from using 'ELITECOURT' or any other mark deceptively similar to 'ELITE' in a manner amounting to passing off.

The case will next be taken up before the Joint Registrar on August 13 for completion of service and pleadings, while the suit is listed before the Court on November 20.

For Glossy Color And Paints: Advocates Sagar Chandra, Nikhil Sonker and Shivendra Pratap Singh