HERO HONDA MOTORS LTD Vs. LAXMIKANT PATEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff has filed a suit for permanent injunction for infringement of trademark, copyright, passing off, delivery up, rendition of accounts, damages, etc. against the defendant. The plaintiff is a limited company incorporated and registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and is a Joint Venture incorporated on 19.01.1984 whereby 26% of the equity is held by the Indian Group being the Hero Group and 26% by the Honda Motors Company of Japan, while the remaining equity is stated to be widely spread. The plaintiff is involved in the business of manufacture and sale of motorcycles under the trademark HERO HONDA since 09.04.1985. It is stated that apart from the said business, the plaintiff is also engaged in the manufacture of sale of readymade garments, hosiery, gloves, etc.

(2.) The Joint Venture Group is stated to be mainly dealing with the manufacture of cycle and cycle parts and the Japanese Joint Venture partner, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. is an internationally renowned name and trademark HONDA. The Joint Venture, thus, adopted the trademark HERO HONDA to reflect the goodwill of the business of both the two Joint Venture Groups as an arbitrarily coined trademark.

(3.) The plaintiff has set out the sales figures in para 5 of the plaint as under :- <FRM>KIS2720056.htm</FRM>