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The court passed an ex parte order in a trademark infringement case and restrained 24 entities from using the trademark “Khan Chacha”.
The Delhi High Court earlier this week restrained 24 food entities from using the name "Khan Chacha" and directed the food services such as Zomato and Swiggy to delist these entities from their platform over trademark infringement.
The Single judge bench of Justice C Hari Shankar noted that the plaintiff in the present case had been using the trademark “Khan Chacha” since 1972 and had clearly made out an infringement case in its own favor.
Gupta and Gupta Pvt Ltd had filed a suit against several companies, saying that they were using the name "Khan Chacha" without permission to do similar work. It said that the entities also offer online services through Zomato and Swiggy to deliver food and other things. Plaintiff argued that it holds trademark registrations under class 29 which covers Meat, fish, poultry, meat extracts etc. and class 43 which covers restaurants, cafes, etc. w.e.f. 23rd October 2009 and 1st April 1972 respectively.
Based on the claim, about 24 entities were providing services similar to those of the plaintiff by using marks that included "Khan Chacha" without permission in classes 29 and 43 of the classification of goods and services for trademark purposes. Defendants 25 and 26 were the online entities that provide online services for the food supply.
The suit filed by the plaintiff sought an injunction decree which sought food delivery companies to delist the listings with the "Khan Chacha" trademark.
The court held that if anyone else used the name "Khan Chacha" for similar services, it would be a clear violation of the plaintiff's registered mark under Section 29(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
The court ordered: "Defendants 1 to 24 are not allowed to use or advertise any mark that includes the words "Khan Chacha" for services that are the same or similar to those in classes 29 and 43 of the classification of goods and services for trade mark purposes".
Summons was issued and the court directed the defendants to file a response within 4 weeks as per Order XXXIX Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code 1908.
The Next date of hearing is on April 11, 2023.
Case Title – Gupta and Gupta Pvt Ltd vs. Khan Chacha Hyderabadi Biryani And Ors.
Statute: The Trade Marks Act 1999 and the Code of Civil Procedure 1908
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