LAWS(DLH)-2018-8-285

RE/MAX, LLC Vs. GULSHAN BAJAJ AND ORS

Decided On August 09, 2018
Re/Max, Llc Appellant
V/S
Gulshan Bajaj And Ors Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present suit for injunction has been filed by the Plaintiff in respect of the trademark 'RE/MAX'. The expression 'RE/MAX' is the trademark of the Plaintiff as also an essential feature of its corporate name/trading style. As per the Plaintiff, the mark 'RE/MAX' has been coined from the phrase 'Real Estate MAXimums' in January, 1973, by two real estate professionals Dave and Gail Liniger from Denver, Colorado. The Plaintiff renders services in the real estate sector and claims to have become the number one real estate organization in Canada. In 1997, the Plaintiff had closed more than 1 million transactions in one year which led to the coining of the slogan "Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX".

(2.) The Plaintiff claims that it has a network of more than 90,000 real estate agents operating across 6,300 offices in 85 countries of the world. It is further averred in the plaint that the Plaintiff has been the highest ranked real estate franchise agent in the world.

(3.) A perusal of the documents on record reveals that the mark 'RE/MAX' both in a word form and in logo form is registered in several countries of the world, the list of which is contained in para 13 of the plaint. The mark 'RE/MAX' and logo 'RE/MAX' are also registered in India in classes 16, 35 & 36. The registration is pending in classes 25 and 41. According to the Plaintiff, the website 'www .remax.com' attracts large number of users including those from India and according to the Plaintiff, the mark is distinctive of the Plaintiff's services in the real estate arena.