2019 SCC OnLine Del 6808

PARTIES

The Appellate is Crocs Inc;

The Respondents are, inter alia, Bata India Ltd., Liberty Shoes Ltd., Action Shoes Pvt. Ltd., Aqualite India Ltd., Bioworld Merchandising India Ltd., Relaxo Footware Ltd., and Kidz Palace.

BRIEF FACTS

The Plaintiff was unsuccessful in a suit filed for design infringement as the designs on which the suit was filed were found to be not new or original and therefore the Plaintiff pressed for the injunction on the ground of passing off of trademark which is an action in common law.

It was settled by an earlier judgment of a five judge bench that as long as the elements of design are not used as a trade mark, but a larger trade dress get up, presentation of the product through its packaging and so on, given that a passing off claim can sustain.

A passing off action has been held to be maintainable with respect to elements of trade dress and overall get up, other than registered design and not with respect to registered design.

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ISSUE

Whether a design can also function as a trademark?

APPLICABLE RULE

Section 2(d), Designs Act, 2000

ARGUMENTS

It was argued by the Defendants that if the passing off action is claimed of elements of the design as a trade mark, no passing off action lies. Since the plaintiff itself relied on use of its registered designs as a shape trade mark and no additional features qualifying as trade dress, which are not part of the registered design have been pleaded or pointed out, the passing off suit is not maintainable.

DECISION

The court agreed with the Defendant that the plaintiff has not been able to show any extra features, besides the design, which is used as a trade mark. The Court interpreted the legislative intent of the Design Act which is to grant limited monopoly by design registration and after the term of registration, it should be open for anyone to use the said design.

The court held that a registered design cannot constitute a trade mark; however if there are features other than those registered as a design and are shown to be used as a trade mark and with respect to which goodwill has been acquired, it is only those extra features which can be protected as a trade mark. If there has been a copy of registered design, only an action for infringement under the Designs Act would lie

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