Jayanta Kumar Biswas, J - (1.) Alleging passing off and infringement of copyright in registered designs the plaintiff has filed C.S. No. 212 of 2003 in this Court.
(2.) In its pending suit the plaintiff has taken out this interlocutory application for interim reliefs. It prays for (a) an injunction to restrain the defendants from using the trade mark "Morning Walker" and "Easy Walker" or any mark deceptively similar to .them, and (b) also an injunction to restrain the defendants from infringing its copyright in the registered designs (Nos. 175740, 179799, 186019 and 190294).
(3.) The case of the plaintiff, in brief, is this. Through research it developed a health oxygen equipment. In July 1995 it started selling a particular design of the equipment under the trade mark "Morning Walker". For registration of this mark under the Trade and Merchandise Marks A. t, 1958 it applied on February 3rd, 1998. On February 10th, 1998 it applied to the competent authority for registration of the design of the equipment sold under the mark "Morning Walker". From April 1998 it started selling another design of the equipment under the trade mark "Easy Walker". On September 1st, 1998 design of the equipment sold under the mark "Morning Walker" was registered under No. 175740. On February 8th, 2002 it applied for registration of the mark "Easy Walker" under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958. The designs of the equipment sold under the marks "Morning Walker" and "Easy Walker" became very popular within a short period. In the meanwhile a few more designs of the equipment were registered in its name. On about May 23rd, 2003 it came to learn that defendants 1 and 2 were marketing identical equipment under the trade mark "Easy Walker". In the circumstances a notice dated June 4th, 2003 was issued to call upon defendant I to desist from using the trade mark "Easy Walker" or any other mark deceptively similar to it, and also from infringing the plaintiff copyright in the registered designs. Since the defendants continued to pass off their health oxygen equipment by using the trade mark "Easy Walker", and they also continued to infringe the plaintiffs copyright in the registered designs, it filed the suit for appropriate reliefs.;