IFRS FOUNDATION v. RAMMOHAN BHAVE & ORS

1. Plaintiff and defendant Nos. 1 to 3 have filed this joint application seeking disposal of the suit in terms of the settlement arrived at between the parties.

2. Settlement agreement is taken on record and the Suit is directed to be decreed in terms of the settlement arrived at between the parties.

3. Application stands disposed of. CS(COMM) 891/2017

1. By the present suit, the plaintiff inter alia seeks a decree of mandatory and permanent injunction directing the defendants, their partners/proprietor, 2019:DHC:5650 servants, representatives, affiliates and agents etc from strictly observing the contractual obligations with the plaintiff and refraining from using the plaintiff registered trade mark IFRS in any manner amounting to infringement or dealing with the works of the plaintiff amounting to infringement of its copyright besides passing off, rendition of accounts, damages, costs etc.

2. In the plaint, the plaintiff had impleaded seven defendants. Vide IA 15783/2018, the plaintiff and defendant Nos. 5 to 7 settled the disputes and thus, the suit was disposed of qua defendant Nos. 5 to 7 vide order dated 22nd November, 2018. Thereafter, the plaintiff also settled the matter with defendant No. 4 and in this regard, IA 6224/2019 was jointly filed under Order XXIII Rule 3 CPC and the suit qua defendant No. 4 was disposed of on 16th April, 2019. Thus, the disputes in the present suit remain between the plaintiff and defendant Nos. 1 to 3, who have filed the joint application being IA 15113/2019 under Order XXIII Rule 3 CPC.

3. The terms of settlement arrived at between the plaintiff and defendant Nos. 1 to 3 are noted in para 2, 3 and 4 of the said application, which are as under: “2a. That defendant Nos. 1 to 3 acknowledge the Plaintiff’s proprietorship over the trademark ‘IFRS’ and its copyright in the proprietary standards as are listed on its website and the plaint, including other materials as have been authored by the plaintiff from time to time. b. That defendant Nos. 1 to 3 undertake not to use the trademark ‘IFRS’ in relation to their goods and services or as a part of their domain name in India or anywhere else in the world in the absence of appropriate license or permission from the plaintiff or any other appropriate body. In particular, defendant Nos. 1 to 3 undertake to remove references to ‘Diploma in IFRS’ or advertise its course for training for ‘Diploma in IFRS’ exam on their website www.rammohanbhave.com or in any other printed or electronic form or material. c. That defendant Nos. 1 to 3 undertake to surrender and transfer the domain names: http://consultifrs.com/, http://www.ifrstrainingindia.co.in/,http://www.ifrstrainingmu mbai.co.in/ and http://www.ifrstrainingpune.com/, http://consultifrs.info/,http://consultifrs.mobi/, http://consultifrs.co/,http://consultifrs.biz/, http://consultifrs.org/ to the plaintiff at their own expense within two weeks of signing of this compromise. d. That defendant Nos. 1 to 3 have withdrawn the trademark applications under no. 3712063 in class 35, under no. 3712064 in class 41 and under no. 3712065 in class 16. Copies of withdrawal letters in support of the same have been annexed here as Document-A. e. That defendant Nos. 1 to 3 undertake not to reproduce the plaintiff’s proprietary standards in the form of books, course materials or any other commercial product, or provide training services pertaining to the plaintiff’s proprietary standards in violation of the plaintiff’s copyright in India or anywhere else in the world in the absence of appropriate license or permission from the plaintiff or any other appropriate body. f. That defendant Nos. 1 to 3 undertake not to publish the books titled (i)IFRS Simplified With Practical Illustrations- Part I and (ii) IFRS Simplified With Practical Illustrations- Part II or the content contained therein in any manner whatsoever in India or anywhere else in the world in the absence of appropriate licence or permission from the plaintiff or any other appropriate body. g. That defendant Nos. 1 to 3 undertake that they have destroyed their entire stock of the books titled (i) IFRS Simplified With Practical Illustrations-Part I and (ii) IFRS Simplified With Practical Illustrations-Part III, course materials or any other work authored by any other party which violates the plaintiff’s copyright in its Standards (including but not limited to IFRS Standards, IFRS Standards for SMEs and IFRIC Interpretations) and have no stocks of the same currently subsisting. h. That defendant No. 1 agrees to cease providing training in ‘IFRS’ standards or advertising his course for training services using or referring to the ‘IFRS’ trademark until he gets an appropriate licence or permission from the plaintiff or any other appropriate body, on the website www.rammohanbhave.com or in any other printed or electronic form or material. Defendant No. 1 is however allowed to conduct classes for students appearing for ACCA examination on 6th December, 2019. The defendant undertakes to furnish proof of suspension of all activities bearing the trademark ‘IFRS’ no later than 31st December,

2019. Defendant Nos. 1 to 3 also undertake that they will not offer any services under the trademark IFRS through any third party, unless permitted under any licence agreement in the future. i. In the event defendant Nos. 1 to 3 conduct training classes or publish materials on Indian Accounting Standards (IndAS), they undertake not to refer to the trademark ‘IFRS’ or any of the plaintiff’s Standards, or to refer to the IFRS and IndAS interchangeably in any manner on their website or any other printed or electronic materials. They are however permitted to refer to the plaintiff’s standards while teaching differences between IndAS and IFRS. The differences should be covered in a clear and unambiguous manner where IndAS and IFRS are explained to be two different standards. j. That defendant Nos. 1 to 3 undertake to pay an amount of ₹ 11 lakhs (which will not be subject to deduction of TDS) towards a full and final settlement of the present dispute. The amount will be paid to the counsels for the plaintiff (who will in turn remit it in USD to the plaintiff) and will be paid in full according to the present schedule: i. ₹ 5 lakhs on or before the 17th of October, 2019 ii. ₹ 6 lakhs by or before the 21st of October, 2019 Defendants 1 to 3 agree that the payments in j(i) and (ii) will be done by online fund transfer, in favour of Fidus Law Chambers, proof of which is filed herewith as Annexure-B. The defendants undertake that if online fund transfer is not effectuated for any reason whatsoever, the legal consequences will follow.

3. In light of the foregoing, the present suit be decreed qua defendant Nos. 1 to 3, in terms of Paragraph 41(i)—(v) and (viii). The plaintiff relinquishes its remaining claims against defendant Nos. 1 to 3 in paragraph 41 (vi). It is however clarified that if defendant Nos. 1 to 3 violates any rights of the plaintiff in the future (in a manner that amounts to violation of clause 2 above), the plaintiff shall have the right to institute appropriate proceedings to enforce its rights including claiming past damages for the conduct of defendant Nos. 1 to 3.

4. It is clarified that defendant Nos. 1 to 3 are permitted to apply for a licence with the plaintiff after the conclusion of the present suit and that their application will not be prejudiced on account of them being parties to the present suit and will be processed in a fair manner as per the terms and conditions followed by the plaintiff for all licence applications.

5. The present terms shall bind defendant Nos. 1 to 3 as also their agents and affiliates and the plaintiff.

3. Suit is accordingly decreed in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendant Nos. 1 to 3 in terms of the settlement as noted above. Decree sheet will incorporate the terms of settlement.

4. Court fee be refunded to the plaintiff under Section 16A of the Court Fees Act. Registry will issue a necessary certificate in this regard. IA 15559/2017 (under Order XXXIX Rule 1 & 2 CPC) & IA 9770/2018 (under Section 148 read with Section 151 CPC Applications are disposed of infructuous.

JUDGE OCTOBER 31, 2019 akb