MITASO APPLIANCES LIMITED Vs. MEHTA ZINABHAI BHIMJI BHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff claiming itself to be the registered proprietor of the trade mark "MITASO under No.404136 in respect of installations for heating, steam generating, cooking, including LPG gas stoves, geysers and electrical household equipments, fans, hot plates, toasters, etc. and parts and fittings thereof, has filed this suit for an injunction restraining the defendants from manufacturing, selling or otherwise dealing with goods item and all other goods under the trade mark "MITASO" or any other trade mark identical and/or deceptively similar to the plaintiff's trade mark "MITASO", which may amount to infringment of the aforesaid trade mark No.404136.

(2.) . The case of the plaintiff in short is that it being the proprietor of the registered trade mark "MITASO" and its being first adopter, originator and true owner, is entitled to its exclusive use. It is stated that the plaintiff has given wide publicity to its trade mark "MITASO" and its goods under the aforesaid trade mark connotes and denotes the goods and merchandise of the plaintiff and none else and that its sales are run in several lakhs of rupees. It is further stated that on account of superior quality coupled with advertisement of the goods and due to continuous use of the trade mark "MITASO" since 1982, the said trade mark has acquired unique reputation in public and trade and the goods in the aforesaid trade mark are exclusively associated with the plaintiff. It is also alleged that the defendant has recently started manufacturing electronic gas lighter under the identical and/or deceptively similar trade mark "MITASO" represented in the similar manner as that of the plaintiff and the same is stated to be in clear and flagrant violation of the legal and vested rights of the plaintiff in established trade mark "MITASO" and the trade name MITASO Appliances Limited and is alleged to have deliberately, dishonestly and in malafide intentions adopted the trade mark "MITASO" with similar get up and design only to trade upon the plaintiff's reputation and to gain profits in an illegal manner. The gas lighter is used to light the LPG gas stove and in case the defendant is allowed to sell its products under the name "MITASO" with similar get up, the public at large and the people in the trade are bound to be deceived. It is alleged that the public and the trade will be bonafide believing that the said lighter being marketed by the defendant is a product of the plaintiff and not that of the defendant. It is also alleged that the goods of the defendant as well as that of the plaintiff are of the same nature and/or cognate and/or allied and are being sold at the same counters to the same class of purchasers and confusion and deception is inevitable by the use of the trade mark "MITASO" by the defendant. Defendant has also been alleged to be guilty of passing off inferior and sub-standard goods as that of the plaintiff. The plaintiff has also claimed copyright in the word and trade mark "MITASO" and has sought an injunction against the defendants restraining them from counter-feiting labels, cartons, dies, etc. or infringing the copyright of the plaintiff.

(3.) . Alongwith the suit an application under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 for temporary injunction was also filed and by this order I intend to dispose of the said application for an interim relief.