(1.) The appellant was manufacturing camphor tablets under the name and style of "Gopal Camphor Tablets". When he came across the respondent's product "Muruga Camphor", he filed a suit to restrain the respondent from marketing his product, which was dismissed and hence this appeal.
(2.) According to the appellant, he is the registered owner of the trademark carton with the distinctive figure of "Lord Krishna". The carton's get-up, colour scheme and layout had been specifically designed. He had obtained registration on All-India basis. The registration number is 316466 in Class 3 Par (A). It was first registered in the year 1967, and with a slight difference again registered in 1980. The registration has been renewed till date. He has been in the camphor business for over forty years with a very good reputation. The appellant had also incurred heavy expenditure in advertising and marketing the products. One day, his agent saw a camphor carton very similar to the appellant's carton. In fact, in some respects it was virtually identical. So, he issued a legal notice. Since the said notice proved ineffective, O.S. No. 142 of 1995 was filed before the District Judge, Coimbatore for permanent injunction and for delivery of cartons, laminations etc.
(3.) The respondent resisted the suit. The registration obtained by the appellant was denied and the suit was attacked as not being maintainable. According to the respondent, the suit was an attempt to stifle competition. The allegation regarding the deceptive similarity was denied and attributed to the fact that most of the labels were printed at Sivakasi. The suit, according to the respondent had to be dismissed.