MAIDEN PHARMACEUTICALS LTD Vs. WOCKHARDT LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) M /s Wockhardt Ltd., the respondent in the present appeal, (hereinafter referred to as plaintiff) is a company incorporated under the provisions of Indian Companies Act, 1956 and was incorporated on 8.7.1999 under the name of Wockhardt Pharmaceuticals Limited. The name of the company was changed on 28.12.1999 to M/s Wockhardt Limited, the present plaintiff. Plaintiff company is the leading manufacturer of pharmaceutical and medicinal preparations in India. Plaintiff is the owner of registered trademark 'SPASMO -PROXYVON'. Over the years, the plaintiff had been supplying the medicines continuously in India and have acquired the reputation of being extremely safe and reliable drug by virtue of adherence to strict quality standards maintained by the plaintiff. The defendant is selling its product under the trademark 'DEXOPHEN SPAS'. Plaintiff has no objection to the user of the said trademark but to the get up of the packaging in respect of the blister pack of the defendant along with identical blue coloured capsules which according to the plaintiff is deceptively similar to that of the plaintiff, and is in violation of the rights of the plaintiff in its unregistered trademark to its blister packaging and is also infringing the copyright in its artistic work. Plaintiff sought following reliefs against the defendant :

(2.) PLAINTIFF valued the suit for purposes of court fees and jurisdiction as follows :

(3.) THE valuation of the suit for purposes of court fees and jurisdiction for rendition of accounts has been challenged by the defendant during the course of arguments in the appeal and the only issue now left to be determined by us is whether the suit has been properly valued by the plaintiff for purposes of court fees and jurisdiction for the relief of rendition of accounts and whether plaintiff is required to pay the court fees on the valuation of the suit for purposes of jurisdiction which has been valued at Rs. 20 lacs.