CASTROL LIMITED Vs. SHANKARLAL NAGWANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present suit has been filed by M/s. Castrol Ltd and M/s Castrol India Ltd., hereinafter described as the plaintiffs, seeking a permanent injunction to restrain the defendants (M/s Shankarlal Nagwani) from infringing the registered trade mark of the plaintiffs and to restrain the defendants from manufacturing and selling tin containers, caps and plastic caps under the trade mark Castrol and Castrol or selling the Same in the market. Damages also in this regard have been claimed.

(2.) The facts alleged are that plaintiff no.1 Castrol Ltd. is stated to be a company under the law of England. Plaintiff no.2 Castrol India Ltd. is a company registered under the companies Act, 1956 having its register office at White House, 91 Walkeshwar Road, Bombay. Plaintiff no.2 carries on business on a large and extensive scale in processing and trading in high grade automotive and industrial lubricants. Plaintiff no.1 is an internationally renewed company having operations in several countries all over the word and had commerced its activities in 1919. On 31/5/1979 plaintiff no.2 was set up with the object of processing and marketing high grade and industrial lubricants. Under the scheme of amalgamation initiated by the Indian Branch of plaintiff no.1 to comply with the guide-line framed by the Govt. of India, plaintiff no.1 voluntarily offered to reduce the equity shares to 40% plaintiff no.2 in India. Thereafter in December 1982 Indrol Lubricants and Specialities Pvt. Ltd. became a public limited company and its name was changed to Castrol India Ltd. Thus it is claimed that plaintiff no.1 is the registered proprietor in India of several trade marks including the trade mark Castrol. The word castrol appears in an oblique script across the horizontal member of the white portion.

(3.) During the course of business plaintiff no.2 is stated to be getting manufactured the container caps and plastic caps from the manufacturer as per the list of manufacturers. They have been advertising their products through various printed media. The container caps are of green colour for the said trade nark and the logo of Castrol.