SOUMEN SEN,J. - (1.) The preliminary objection raised by the defendant as to the continuance of the suit and interlocutory proceeding during the moratorium period is considered before deciding the matter on merits.
(2.) Sworn of details, the plaintiffs filed a suit against the defendant praying, inter alia, for passing off the trademark 'Kwality' or 'KDIL's Kwality' trade mark or any other trademark containing the word 'Kwality' or any other trade mark deceptively similar to the plaintiffs' well-known trademark 'Kwality' so as to pass off or enable others to pass off the respondent's goods as and for the plaintiffs' goods. The plaintiffs claimed that the plaintiff No.1 is the assignee of 'Kwality' trade from the original proprietor.
(3.) The petitioner contended that under a Strategic Alliance Agreement between Kwality Ice Creams (India) Limited and Brooke Bond Lipton India Limited, it was agreed that the use of the 'Kwality/sub-Zero' name in the corporate name shall be subject to the condition that Kwality Dairy India Limited, which was a subsidiary of Kwality Ice Creams (India) Limited and described in the Strategic Alliance Agreement as K (East), shall at all times hold 1/3rd of the voting capital in Kwality Ice Creams (India) Limited and Kwality Processed Foods Service & Equipment (Private) Limited and 1/6th of such capital in Kwality Dairy India Limited and Sub-Zero Ice Creams (Private) Limited which includes Kwality Dairy India Limited and since K (East) is no more holding 1/6th of share capital in Kwality Dairy India Limited since 2002-2003, the use of "Kwality/sub-Zero" name in the corporate name by the defendant is unauthorized.;