KOHINOOR PAINTS FARIDABAD PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. PARAMVEER SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The point involved in the above Civil Original Petition is a very short one. It relates to the alleged assignment of trade mark in favour of the respondent. The plaintiff got that registration on 26th of March 1982. In 1989 the extension was granted. The respondent, according to the petitioner, was an employee of the petitioner Co. On 2nd of November 1992 Tirlok Singh, who was in the entire control of the Company died. On 13th of September 1994 the services of the respondent were terminated by the petitioner Co. It would appear that on the 15th of October 1994 the defendant filed a suit in the District Court for injunction on the basis of the assignment of trade mark in his Company. What is stated by the petitioner is that the alleged assignment letter dated 19th of June 1992 had been relied on by the respondent before the Registrar and made an application under T.M. 24, as provided in Rule 71 for recognition of the assignment and without any enquiry was a concocted one. It would appear on 26th of August 1994 the transfer was affected by the Registrar. The petitioner came to know about it only from the suit filed by the respondent before the District Court, Delhi. Hence this petition.

(2.) The argument on behalf of the petitioner is that under Section 44 of the Trade Marks Act if there is a dispute relating to the title to the trade mark the Registrar has no power to order the transfer and the Registrar should have issued the notice to the petitioner before transfer and inasmuch as the Registrar violated the basic principles of natural justice the order is void. The learned counsel for the petitioner relied upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in 1954 S.C. 340 and Radha Kishan Khandelwal vs. Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks and others, AIR 1969 Delhi 324. The learned counsel for the respondent contended per contra that no notice is required to be given to the petitioner and the only remedy, if any, of the petitioner is to file an appeal under Section 109 of the Trade Marks Act to the appropriate authority and there is no infirmity in the order passed by the Registrar. 3. Section 44 of the Trade & Merchandise Marks Act reads as follows :-

(3.) By virtue of the power conferred on the Government, Rules have been framed and Rule 71 of the Rules reads as follows :-