New Delhi, Jun 28 A Delhi court has restrained a shop owner near New Lajpat Rai Market in Chandni Chowk here from using, selling, soliciting, and displaying imitation products of Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer.
District Judge Anubhav Jain was hearing the plea of the plaintiff, Switzerland-based M/s Tag Heuer S A, according to which it had learnt that some people, including the defendant (the shop owner), are using marks identical or similar to it.
"The said marks and labels adopted and being used by the defendant are fraudulent and obvious imitations of the plaintiff's respective registered and prior used marks, and the defendant maliciously and fraudulently adopted and started using the respective impugned marks, being influenced by and inspired by the plaintiff's marks," the plea said.
The defendants are violating the plaintiff's rights in the said marks and labels, it said.
"The defendant is not only making the retail sales but is also supplying the impugned trade marks to various other dealers/shopkeepers/ retailers in Delhi, including New Delhi, who are making the clandestine and surreptitious sales thereof to the ultimate unwary consumers in Delhi," the plea said.
It sought that the defendant be restrained from manufacturing, marketing, or otherwise dealing with the counterfeit goods with similar or identical marks to the plaintiff.
In an order dated June 9, the court said after the filing of the present suit in January 2016, the court had appointed a local commissioner who inspected the defendant's shop bearing no. 17 B, Pleasure Garden Market, New Lajpat Rai Market, Near Gauri Shankar Mandir, Chandni Chowk.
"The local commissioner recovered 235 pieces of watches, mentioning Tag Heuer and 15 empty boxes of Tag Heuer," the court said.
"It is proved by the plaintiff that the unauthorised acts of the defendant of using the trademark of the plaintiff without any leave or license impairs the distinctiveness of the well-known Tag Heuer trademark/label'," the court said.
It said the plaintiff, being the owner of the registered trademark Tag Heuer, is entitled to protection of its rights.
"The defendants are restrained from using, selling, soliciting, exporting, displaying, advertising or dealing with the Tag Heuer trademark/label, which amounts to infringement and passing off the plaintiffs' copyright and registered Tag Heuer trademark/label. The defendants are directed to deliver up all the impugned finished and unfinished materials bearing the Tag Heuer trademark/label," the court said.
