The Delhi high court has dismissed a petition of Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries seeking an injunction against Champion Ceramics in a trade mark case. The dispute was over the trade mark of Hindustan Sanitaryware, which has a giant share in the market of bathroom and ceramic goods. It used the trademark H-Vitreous Hindware. The other company, which came later, adopted the trade mark Himware. This was objected to the other company and it sought a permanent injunction against Champion Ceramics. Rejecting the application, the court stated that though there was some phonetic similarity between Hind ware and Him ware, when the trade marks are compared there was no similarity. Even from the ocular comparison of the trade mark it is apparent that the two marks are distinct inasmuch as Him Ware is encircled in oval shaped lines circumscribing it and there is nothing which may come near to H- Vitreous Hind ware. “When the trademarks are put to the test of being considered from point of view of a man with average intelligence and imperfect re-collection, it does not get proved that the trade mark of Champion is deceptively similar to the trade mark of Hindustan Sanitaryware,” the judgment said.
