Delhi High Court restrains two private entities from using KHADI trademark

The Delhi High Court recently passed an interim order restraining two private entities from using the KHADI trademark for hosting pageants and other events after Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) filed a suit for trademark infringement..KVIC is a Central government body tasked with the planning, promotion, organisation and implementation of programs for the development of Khadi and other village industries in the rural areas..Justice C Hari Shankar held that the two firms -- Khadi Design Council of India and Miss India Khadi Foundation – infringed the trademark KHADI and indulged in passing off.“Resultantly, the defendants as well as all others acting on their behalf shall stand restrained, during the pendency of the suit, from using, directly or indirectly, the mark KHADI, either as a word or as part of its trade name or name of its business concern, as well as from using the impugned marks or any other mark identical or deceptively similar thereto,” the Court ordered.It also restrained the defendants from operating any social media page including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or from reflecting their website the KHADI mark..KVIC had approached the High Court stating that they became aware of infringement of their mark in December 2019 when the defendants organised the National Khadi Designers Awards, 2019 and the Miss India Khadi event at Goa, in which they were using the word mark KHADI as well as the logo.A legal notice was addressed to them following which the defendants removed the mark and logo from their banners, posters and hoardings.However, later they came to know that the defendants infringed on their KHADI and Charkha trademarks through various other methods..It was the defendants’ case that the intellectual property rights over the term “Khadi” would vest with every person who is associated with Khadi. They said that being publici juris, the Khadi mark cannot be appropriated exclusively by the KVIC.It was also argued that the defendants are neither engaged in manufacturing or weaving of any Khadi fabric nor in sale of any finished clothes and the designers associated with them purchased clothes or fabric only from authorised outlets of the KVIC..After considering the case, the Court held that the defendants’ use of the word Khadi and several marks in question does amount to infringement within the meaning of Section 29(2) and (4) of the Trade Marks Act.The Court further held that there is a prima facie case that the defendants tried to pass off their services as being associated with KVIC.“The case set up by the defendants is that they are sourcing fabric manufactured by the plaintiff, and bearing the plaintiff‘s marks, from authorized outlets and stockists, and placing the fabrics on display, inter alia by using them in designer clothing, beauty pageants, and the like. The intent to associate the activities of the defendants with those of the plaintiff is, therefore, not only apparent but admitted. Inasmuch as the plaintiff has granted no authority, whatsoever, to the defendant to do so, these attempts amount, prima facie, to passing off, by the defendants, of their services as those of the plaintiff or, at the very least, drawing an association between the two,” the Court said. .It, therefore, passed an interim order in favour of the plaintiff and listed the case for further consideration on May 16..Advocates Shwetasree Majumder, Devyani Nath and Archita Nigam appeared for the KVIC.The defendants were represented by advocates Jatin Sharma and Sachin Mintri. .[Read Order]