AMIT ARORA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this writ petition, the petitioner impugns the order dated 01.08.2011 passed by the learned Intellectual Property Appellate Board (hereinafter referred as the Board) in ORA/143/2006/TM/DEL. By the impugned order, the learned Board has rejected the petitioner's application, i.e. M.P. No. 57/2007 with Costs of Rs.25,000.00 and has allowed the respondents application being M.P. No. 57/2008, whereby the respondent had sought amendment of Form 1 and the Statement of Case. The petitioner has been permitted to file its amended counter-statement while making it clear that the petitioner shall strictly confine his response to answer to the amendment, and not to set up an altogether new case, which would require another reply and would saddle the Board with endless series of pleadings.

(2.) THE case of the petitioner is that the petitioner obtained registration of trademark "Milton" for LPG Gas Stoves in the year 1991. The petitioner preferred C.S.(O.S.) No. 1580/2002 to seek injunction against the respondents and on 09.04.2003, defendants No. 1 to 5 in the said suit, who are respondents No. 2 to 6 in the present petition, were proceeded ex-parte as they failed to appear despite service of summons upon them.

(3.) ACCORDING to the petitioner, upon this discrepancy being noted, the petitioner filed its counter-statement which dealt with only the averments made in Form 1. The petitioner simultaneously moved an application being M.P. No. 57/2007 pointing out the aforesaid discrepancy. The petitioner sought the rejection of the Statement of Case on the ground that respondents No.2 to 6 herein were arrayed as petitioners No. 1 to 5, even though they were not arrayed as petitioners in Form 1. The petitioner did not specifically deal with the averments made in the Statement of Case on the ground that the said statement of case deserves to be rejected.