CHORION RIGHTS LIMITED Vs. ISHAN APPAREL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This application under order XXXIX Rules 1 & 2 read with section 151 of CPC & section 135 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 is filed by the plaintiff seeking interim injunction restraining the defendants, their defendants/proprietors/partners, their principles, employees, agents, distributors, franchisees, representatives and assigns from using the trade mark NODDY (word and image) or any other trade mark(s), which may be deceptively or confusingly similar to the plaintiffs registered trade mark NODDY.

(2.) The plaintiff claims to be the owner of the worldwide trademark rights in NODDY, including the NODDY name and character image. Further, it claims to have launched the popular NODDY (a fantasy character created by Ms. Enid Blyton in the 1940s, as a little wooden boy with a jingly blue hat who lived in Toy Land) story books and that it has expanded its use of the NODDY word and image mark through a range of merchandise in India. The history of the Author and her works, including NODDY, and their popularity is given on pages 2 to 8 of the application. To summarise, the details of media featuring NODDY includes, print media, television, internet, etc. and that the author is a well-known personality and the recipient of various accolades for her works in the field of literature. The plaintiff has introduced various books in the NODDY range, including classic stories, TV tie-in books (based on NODDY television series) and activity books. It is stated, these books are designed to help children develop through reading, colouring and other activities and are priced between Rs. 25 to Rs. 75. The said books are marketed from all gift and book shops, kids stores, supermarkets and malls across the country. The character of Noddy is depicted here: IMAGE

(3.) The plaint avers that BBC Worldwide is the plaintiffs licensing and marketing agent in India. The Make Way For Noddy television series was first broadcasted in India in 2002 and is still being broadcasted on the children channel POGO. In 2008, NODDY live shows were organized throughout India under a licensing deal with Media 5 Pvt. Ltd., including distribution of licensed merchandise such as clothing, picture frames, lushes, key chains and sticker. It is claimed that these live shows have been very successful. In order to protect its statutory rights in the said work, the plaintiff has registered a global trademark portfolio in various countries, including UK, USA, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, France and Portugal, Latin America and the Middle East. The list of registrations is filed. Further, various applications by the plaintiff for registration of the said mark are pending in various parts of the world. Furthermore, the plaintiff has also applied for the registration of NODDY image in jurisdictions including Europe, United States of America, Japan, India, China, Taiwan and South Korea. The aforementioned registrations are renewed from time to time and are valid and subsisting. These registrations were originally granted in the name of Enid Blyton Limited (The Plaintiffs predecessor in interest and title). The plaintiff further claims to be the owner of numerous NODDY domain names, including noddy.com, noddyshop.com, noddyshop.eu, noddy-shop.com, noddy-shop.co.uk, shopnoddy.com, shopnoddy.co.uk, joinnoddy.com, etc. The plaintiff claims to be using the trademark NODDY in several countries across the globe and that it has expended huge amounts. In para 18 of the application the plaintiff has shown the annual revenue generated by use of NODDY, between 2001 to 2008: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_810_ILRDLH20_2010Html1.htm</FRM>