BATA INDIA LTD Vs. A.M. TURAZ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order shall dispose of the application filed by the plaintiff under Order 39 Rule 1& 2 r/w Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure to restrain the defendants, their servants, employees, agents, partners/ proprietors, directors, officers, associates or sister concerns, marketing offices, or any person or entity acting on their behalf or under their authority from releasing from releasing, distributing, exhibiting, performing or communicating to the public by any means or technology oral or audio visual performance of the impugned song "Mehngai?.

(2.) It would be pertinent to give e a brief conspectus of the facts of the present case to decide the present application. The plaintiff has filed the present suit for permanent injunction restraining infringement of its trademark/name, passing off, defamation, rendition of accounts, damages etc. against the defendants inter-alia on the grounds that the plaintiff is the owner/exclusive licencee of legendary brands including BATA, Marie Claire, Hush Puppies, Scholl, North Star, Power, Bubblegummers, Comfit, Koolkids, Sparx etc. , and the said trademark and logo BATA is registered in the name of the plaintiff since 14th April, 1969, the same being valid and subsisting up to 2014. It is also the case of the plaintiff that the plaintiff is a globally renowned trade name in the footwear products and the plaintiff enjoys high reputation for its honest and principled conduct, quality and reliability of their products.

(3.) As per the plaintiff? the lyrics used in the said song are per se defamatory and the transmission of the same either through promos or in the film or through CDs etc by the defendants for their own commercial and profitable motives will disparage and dilute the goodwill and reputation of the plaintiff amongst the common people. The plaintiff has also averred that under the pretext of condemning corruption, the defendants have publically condemned the plaintiff in order to generate public hatred and contempt towards the plaintiff, purely for the sake of profit, with no other intention and without there being any foundation or basis for the same. Based on these facts, the plaintiff has claimed the grant of an ad interim injunction to restrain the defendants, their employees, servants, agents, etc from releasing, distributing, exhibiting, performing or communicating to the public by any means or technology including but not limited to making available on the internet the words or any aural or audiovisual performance of the song "Mehngai" which would have the effect of defaming the plaintiff or damaging its reputation and goodwill amongst the public at large.