India News | HC Restrained Designer from Using Logo and Trademark of DPS on Face Masks
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Delhi High Court has restrained a fashion designer from using the trademark and logo of Delhi Public School (DPS) on manufacturing face masks, saying it infringes the copyright of the institution.
New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has restrained a fashion designer from using the trademark and logo of Delhi Public School (DPS) on manufacturing face masks, saying it infringes the copyright of the institution.
Justice Mukta Gupta, in an interim order, said the plaintiff DPS society has made out a prima facie case in its favour and in case no ad-interim injunction is granted, it would suffer an irreparable loss.
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The high court, in its June 30 order, restrained the fashion designer Manish Tripathi, his agent, partners and employees from using the trademark and logo of DPS on manufacturing face masks.
“A bare perusal of the impugned design (on mask) would show that it not only infringes the trademarks and the copyright of the plaintiff (DPS society) but also passes off the said goods to be that of the plaintiff,” the high court said and listed the suit for further hearing on July 28.
The DPS society said it has been running 200 schools in the country and has an exclusive right over the use of its logo which was registered under the Copyright Act in December 2012.
It added that trademarks ‘Delhi Public School' and ‘DPS' are also registered under the Trademarks Act in various classes.
The high court informed that in the first week of June, 2020, the plaintiff received a video from Mansoor Ali Khan, who is running Delhi Public School in Bangalore and Mysore in collaboration with the society informing about a news on the national television about broadcasting of a report of manufacture of face mask with the trademarks ‘Delhi Public School'.
It added the logo of Delhi Public School / DPS was printed on the mask and the news report stated that the schools have charged Rs 350 to Rs 400 for one mask from its students.
Thereafter, the society got the matter investigated and found that defendant Manish Tripathi, a fashion designer, was selling masks after copying and incorporating the trade mark of the school under his brand name ‘Namastay Away'.
They also came across brochures of the designer wherein different designs and styles of mask bearing the school's trade mark are depicted in a manner so as to confuse and deceive the students, parents and the public at large, the suit said.
When the suit came up for hearing, the designer's advocate stated that he was willing to suffer an injunction in terms of the suit.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)