Delhi High Court grants interim injunction to Volvo in trademark infringement case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction in favour of Swedish automobile company Volvo, restraining Indian bus manufacturers and inter-city bus operators from using its trademark and design.

In the matter titled Aktiebolaget Volvo & Ors v. Shri Ganesh Motor Body Repairs & Ors, Justice Amit Bansal observed that the defendants had violated Volvo’s statutory and common law rights by creating counterfeit vehicles designed to look like the company's products.

“It is clear that the defendants’ aforesaid acts are violating the statutory and common law rights of the plaintiffs’ in the suit trademark. The defendants have deliberately and dishonestly copied and created fake/replica/lookalike/counterfeit products of the plaintiffs’ well-known products bearing the suit trademarks,” the Court stated.

Volvo submitted that it adopted the trademark in 1915 and has used it globally since then. It alleged that the Indian defendants were manufacturing buses and offering transport services using its registered marks without authorisation, thereby misleading customers and creating a false association with the Volvo brand.

The Court observed that this unauthorised usage amounted to infringement and passing off, stating: “The defendants’ attempt to use the suit trademarks is nothing but a mala fide attempt to encash on the plaintiffs’ rights and amount to infringement and passing off of the suit trademarks, with a sole intention of riding piggyback on the plaintiffs’ immense reputation and goodwill to achieve immense publicity, marketing and business gains."

The Court also noted that one of the defendant bus manufacturers had admitted to producing and selling more than 100–125 buses featuring the infringing logos.

“If the actions of the defendants remain unrestrained, then the practice of using the infringing grille slash trademarks on any bus will become rampant and the exclusivity associated with the plaintiffs’ buses and marks will vanish over time,” the order stated.

On the basis of the submissions and evidence presented, the Court found that a prima facie case had been made out for an interim injunction.

It consequently restrained the defendants from using, manufacturing, marketing, offering for sale, supplying, deploying, displaying, advertising, or dealing in buses or any other goods or services bearing the Volvo mark and its grille-slash mark.

The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for 9 October.