The Delhi High Court has recently passed an interim injunction prohibiting two private entities from using the KHADI trademark for conducting pageants and other events after Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) filed a trademark infringement complaint
KVIC is a Central Government agency responsible with the planning, promotion, organization, and implementation of programmes for the development of Khadi and other village industries in rural areas.
Justice C Hari Shankar ruled that the two companies, Khadi Design Council of India (KDCI) and Miss India Khadi Foundation (MIKF), infringed on the KHADI trademark and indulged in passing off.
“As a result, during the pendency of the suit, the defendants and all others acting on their behalf shall be restrained 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 further prohibited the defendants from operating any social media page, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, or from using the KHADI mark on their website.
KVIC had approached the High Court, claiming that they became aware of trademark infringement in December 2019 when the defendants organized the National Khadi Designers Awards, 2019 and the Miss India Khadi event in Goa, both of which used the word mark KHADI and the logo.
Following receipt of a legal notice, the defendants withdrew the mark and logo from their banners, posters, and hoardings.
However, they then discovered that the defendants had infringed on their KHADI and Charkha trademarks through several other means.
According to the defendants, the intellectual property rights to the term “Khadi” would vest in everyone who is involved with Khadi. They claimed that because the Khadi mark is publici juris, it cannot be used exclusively by the KVIC.
It was further contended that the defendants are neither indulged in the manufacturing or weaving of Khadi fabric, nor in the sale of finished outfits, and that the designers linked with them exclusively purchased clothes or fabric from authorised KVIC outlets.
After considering the matter, the Court ruled that the defendants’ use of the word Khadi and many marks in question constituted infringement under Sections 29(2) and (4) of the Trade Marks Act.
The Court also ruled that there is a prima facie case that the defendants attempted to misrepresent their services as being linked with KVIC.
“The defendants’ case is that they are sourcing fabric manufactured by the plaintiff and bearing the plaintiff’s marks from authorized outlets and stockists and displaying the fabrics, for example, by using them in designer clothing, beauty pageants, and the like. The purpose to link the defendants’ acts with those of the plaintiff is thus not only obvious, but also admitted. Because the plaintiff has given the defendant no authority to do so, these attempts amount, prima facie, to the defendants passing off their services as those of the plaintiff or, at the very least, drawing an association between the two,” the Court stated.
As a result, it passed an interim order in favour of the plaintiff and scheduled the case for further hearing on May 16, 2023.
