- (1.) The suit is on account of alleged passing-off by the defendant of Orient electric lamps as those of the plaintiff. Though the plaintiff is the registered proprietor of the word mark Orient in respect of electric lamps under Class 11, the plaintiff has clarified that the suit is not one for infringement.
(2.) The plaintiff says that it manufactures and markets lamps of various kinds and claims that the word mark Orient has been exclusively associated with the plaintiff for more than twenty years. The plaintiff has set out its turn-over figures from the year 1990-91 and shows that the annual sales of the plaintiff has jumped from about Rs.60 lakh in the year 1990-91 to Rs.6.20 crore in the year 2008-09. The expenses incurred by the plaintiff for advertising its Orient brand of lamps are not equally impressive. In 1990-91 the advertisement expenses were about Rs.2.52 lakh and in 2008-09 the plaintiff incurred expenses of about Rs.1.82 lakh on such count. In between, there were several years when the advertisement expenses were well below Rs.10,000/-. Though the petition does not clearly state that the sales and advertisement figures relate only to the Orient brand of lamps, it has been clarified in the affidavit-in-reply that the plaintiff sells its lamps only under the mark Orient and the sales and advertisement figures in the petition relate to the plaintiff s Orient range of lamps. Even though such statement is not completely correct, but the papers relied upon by the plaintiff show substantial sales of the Orient brand of lamps. The plaintiff has also relied on copies of bills and invoices from or about the year 1987.
(3.) Several of the copies, bills and invoices appended to the petition do not clearly show the sale of Orient lamps or Orient products but a number of the others distinctly refer to Orient lamps being the goods covered thereby. The plaintiff s registration is in respect of a label mark bearing the name Orient covering electric bulbs for the sale thereof in the state of West Bengal; the word mark Orient relating to, inter alia, electric lamps; and, another label mark bearing the name Orient for electronic goods. The registration of the label mark for sale of electric bulbs in this state was in the year 1987. The word mark was registered in the year 1995 and the other label registration was obtained in the year 2004. There is a further application pending in respect of electric lighting and fittings, including lamps, which was lodged in the year 2006.;