ALBERTO CULVER COMPANY Vs. VOI FASHION STORES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this suit, the plaintiff prays for a decree of permanent injunction restraining the defendants, their proprietors, partners, directors etc. from manufacturing, using, selling, soliciting, exporting, displaying and advertising the goods manufactured by them including fashion apparels, accessories and allied/cognate goods under the trade mark Voi or any other trade name or trade mark identical with or deceptively similar to the plaintiff's trade mark and label VO5 and VO5 alongwith the letters ALBERTO, VO or from doing any other acts amounting to or likely to infringe plaintiff's registered Trade Mark ALBERTO VO5 or passing off and violating the plaintiff's rights in the plaintiff's trade mark and label.

(2.) The plaintiff has now filed the present application under Order VI Rule 17 of the CPC for amendment of plaint. The proposed amendment is limited to the deletion of 11 lines of para 3 of the plaint which read as under:-

(3.) It was argued by learned counsel for the plaintiff that the proposed amendment simply explains and clarifies the position regarding the conception, adoption and use of trade mark VO5 and VO5 along with the letter ALBERTO. In particular, the proposed amendment clarifies that the plaintiff had, with passage of time, made changes in the artistic features in the said trade marks individually as also alongwith word ALBERTO. The amendment is, in that view, simply clarifying the true position without introducing any fresh cause of action or changing in the nature of the suit. Reliance in support was placed by learned counsel upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in Punjab National Bank v. Indian Bank and another, (2003) 6 SCC 79 and that of this Court in C and Saif-ul-Islam Company, L.P. v. Roshan Lal Arora and another 2003 II AD (Delhi) 426.