INDIA: cement under ACC trademark

The Delhi High Court has restrained three cement firms of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab from producing or selling their product under the trade mark of leading

cement manufacturer Associated Cement Companies (ACC) Ltd. The court also appointed a three-member team including a lawyer as court commissioner to inspect their stores in Gorakhpur, Sirhind and Kapurthala.

Justice Kailash Gambhir passed the interim order accepting the argument of ACC's counsel Purushottam Mishra that Ajay Kumar Jaiswal, proprietor of Jaiswal Cement Store of Gorakhpur in UP, Harpreet Singh of Sirhind and Daler Singh of Kapurthala in Punjab have been manufacturing spurious ACC cement and selling them under its trade mark, violating the Intellectual Properties Act.

"The plaintiff has made out a prima facie case in their favour and refusal to grant ex-parte and interim injunction will cause prejudice to the rights of the plaintiff. The balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiff

and if an ex-parte ad interim injunction is not granted in favour of the plaintiff, irreparable loss and injury would be caused to the plaintiff.

"Accordingly the defendants, its partners or proprietors, its officers, servants and agent are restrained from selling advertising, directly or indirectly dealing in the business of manufacturing /distributing and selling cement under the trade mark ACC or any other trade mark which is deceptively similar

to the plaintiff's trade mark," the court said in its order while issuing summons to all of them.

While appointing a team of court commissioners, comprising advocate Jaspreet Singh and high court officials Raj Kumar Rawat and Anita Malhotra, the court said the members would inspect the premises in Gorakhpur, Sirhind and Kapurthala without prior notice to the defendants.

"Local commissioners shall visit the premises of defendants without prior notice to the defendants. The local commissioners shall make an inventory of all goods and materials bearing the trade mark "ACC" or A.C.C or any other material or goods bearing identical or deceptively similar mark to the plaintiff's trade mark.

"The local commissioners shall seize and seal all the goods and release the same on superdari to the defendants with an undertaking not to tamper with the same and to produce the same before the court as and when directed," the court said and granted liberty to them to seek police assistance during

their inspection.

"The local commissioners shall be entitled to police assistance and the local police shall co-operate and assist the local commissioners for the smooth execution of the commission. The representatives of ACC Ltd shall accompany them in order to help in identifying the infringing goods," the court said.