Full Text
HIGH COURT OF DELHI
HTC CORPORATION ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Hemant Singh, Ms. Mamta Jha, Mr. Waseem Shuaib Ahmed, Mr. Sambhav Jain, Mr. Abhijeet Rastogi and Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Advocates
Through: Mr. J. Sai Deepak, Mr. G. Natraj, Mr. Avinash Sharma, Mr. R.
Abhishek and Mr. Ankur Vyas, Advocates for D-1 to 4
Mr. S.K.Sharma, Advocate for D-6 Mohd. Bilal, Mr. Rahul Kumar and
Ms.Akanksha Singh, Advocates for D-9
JUDGMENT
1. This order will dispose of the application [I.A.5795/2020] under Order XXXIX Rules 1 & 2 Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short, 2022:DHC:1229 “CPC”) filed by the plaintiff along with the suit for declaration, permanent injunction, restraining infringement of trade mark, passing off, dilution, unfair competition, rendition of accounts/damages, delivery up etc.
2. The plaintiff is a company incorporated under the laws of Taiwan and claims to be a leading manufacturer of consumer electronic items, such as, smartphones, mobile phones, personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, virtual reality head-mounted displays, etc. The plaintiff was initially incorporated in the year 1997 as „High Tech Computer Corporation‟, but gained popularity quickly as “HTC” and has been known as such since 1998. The plaintiff also used these alphabets for the first time in 1998 in relation to its product i.e., a phone named “HTC Kangaroo”. In 2008, the plaintiff formally changed its name to “HTC Corporation” reflecting the growing popularity of the “HTC” brand.
3. The plaintiff got the Trade Mark registered in India in Class-9 on 12th May, 2006, vide Registration No.1451016 which was valid till 12th May, 2026. It has been doing business in India using the said Trade Mark since 2007, though it had begun using it internationally since 2006. In 2008, the plaintiff also launched the first ever Android-based mobile phone under the trade mark /HTC Dream in India. It applied for and was granted registration of the Trade Mark on 24th January, 2008 vide Registration No.1645578 in Class- 9 in India. On 24th November, 2011, the plaintiff applied for and was granted registration of its Trade Mark in Class 9 in India. On 7th March, 2014, the plaintiff obtained international registration for the Trade Mark in China in Class 9 vide Registration No.6481646 and on 21st March, 2015, in Class 8 vide Registration No.12262154.
4. The details of the registration in more than 90 jurisdictions across the world have been listed in para No.8 of the plaint, and in India, in para No.9 of the plaint, which are reproduced as under: - TRADE MARK REGISTRATIONS – INTERNATIONAL
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ SL. Trade Mark Trade Mark Class Renewal │ │ No. Registration Status │ │ No. and Date │ │ CS (COMM) 263/2020 Page 5 of 36 │ │ 2022:DHC:1229 │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ 1. 2215248 HTC LISTEN 9, 35 & 38 Registered │ │ and valid till │ │ 04/10/2011 04/10/2021 │ │ 2. 2707246 HTC 9 Registered │ │ ULTRAPIXEL and valid till │ │ 27/03/2014 27/03/2024 │ │ 3. 2528830 HTC SENSE 9 Registered │ │ VOICE and valid till │ │ 10/05/2013 10/05/2023 │ │ 4. 2528834 HTC SENSE TV 9 Registered │ │ and valid till │ │ 10/05/2013 10/05/2023 │ │ 5. 2528833 HTC ZOE 9 Registered │ │ and valid till │ │ 10/05/2013 10/05/2023 │ │ 6. 2528832 HTC 9 Registered │ │ BOOMSOUND and valid till │ │ 10/05/2013 10/05/2023 │ │ 7. 2528831 HTC BLINKFEED 9 Registered │ │ and valid till │ │ 10/05/2013 10/05/2023 │ │ 8. 2707250 HTC DOT VIEW 9 Registered │ │ and valid till │ │ 27/03/2014 27/03/2024 │ │ 9. 2795415 9, 35, 37 & Registered │ │ 42 and valid till │ │ 22/08/2014 22/08/2024 │ │ 10. 3202653 HTC 10 9 Registered │ │ and valid till │ │ 05/03/2016 05/03/2026 │ │ 11. 3073933 HTC VIVE 9 Registered │ │ and valid till │ │ 08/10/2015 08/10/2025 │ │ 12. 4069361 HTC WILDFIRE 9 Registered │ │ and valid till │ │ 28/01/2019 28/01/2029 │ │ CS (COMM) 263/2020 Page 6 of 36 │ │ 2022:DHC:1229 │ │ 6. The defendant No.1/L V Degao is a Chinese individual and owner │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
56. Therefore, the plaintiff has disclosed a prima facie case not only for infringement of the Trade Mark (drawing assistance from the parameters provided under Section 29(4) of the T.M. Act), but also for passing off. The damage caused to the plaintiff would be irreparable as the continued use of the registered Trade Mark of the defendant No.1 would ultimately result in dilution of the Trade Mark and that too, on account of „dishonest use‟. The “balance of convenience” lies in favour of the plaintiff inasmuch as the products of the defendants have been launched only lately and the invoices show that these products have been in the market only since 2017 and the sales are few and far between.
57. The application [I.A.5795/2020] is accordingly allowed and till the decision in the rectification/cancellation proceedings is rendered, the defendants No.1 to 4, their directors, partners or proprietors, etc., are restrained forthwith from manufacturing, selling, supplying, offering for sale, including through online platforms, exporting, importing, directly or indirectly dealing in hair trimmers, hair clippers, hair dryers or any other goods bearing the impugned Trade Marks / and/or any other trade mark/device/logo as may be identical with or deceptively similar to the plaintiff‟s trade mark/trade name/ /, amounting to infringement of the registered trade mark, dilution and passing off. The defendants shall also place on the record the sales figures and the revenues from the sale of its products from the date of the filing of the suit, till 30th April, 2022.
58. The suit [CS(COMM) 263/2020] is stayed, to be revived by either party after the disposal of the rectification/cancellation proceedings. Needless to state that the view taken is on a prima facie basis and will not reflect on the merits of the suit or the rectification proceedings.
59. The application stands disposed of.
60. The order be uploaded on the website forthwith.
JUDGE APRIL 06, 2022