Delhi High Court Grants Ex-Parte Ad Interim Injunction In Favour Of Volvo In Trademark Infringement Case
|It was alleged that the Defendant was manufacturing buses that looked nearly identical, and deceptively similar to the original 'Volvo' buses of the plaintiffs.
The Delhi High Court granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of VOLVO in a trademark infringement case.
The Defendant, M/s. Shri Ganesh Motor Body Repairs, is a sole proprietorship firm engaged in the "manufacture and fabrication of buses and bus bodies". It was alleged that the Defendant was manufacturing buses that looked nearly identical, and deceptively similar to the original 'Volvo' buses of the plaintiffs. To achieve this, the Defendant installed insignias or grille-motifs that were identical with or deceptively similar to the plaintiffs’ Volvo grille-slash marks.
A Single Bench of Justice Amit Bansal remarked, “Accordingly, the defendants no. 1 to 3 , its principal officers, servants, agents, its affiliates, subsidiaries, distributors, and all others acting for and on its behalf are restrained to do the following till the next date of hearing: from using, manufacturing, marketing, offering for sale, supplying, deploying, displaying, advertising (in any form), or in any other manner dealing with buses or any other goods or services bearing the mark ‘VOLVO’, or any other mark, name, logo, label, device, insignia, design or trade dress deceptively similar to the plaintiffs’ registered and well-known ‘VOLVO’ trademarks, including the grille-slash mark or front-end configuration, in relation to physical use on buses, or in relation to travel services to customers.”
Advocate Vaishali R. Mittal appeared for the Plaintiffs.
Brief Facts
The plaintiffs, Aktiebolaget Volvo, Volvo Trademark Holding AB, Volvo Car Corporation, and Volvo Trucks Corporation, are companies incorporated under the laws of Sweden, primarily engaged in the "transportation and automotive sector, including the business of manufacturing spare parts, accessories and ancillary parts for vehicles". Aktiebolaget Volvo is a "world leader in heavy commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses, and construction equipment, as well as in drive systems for marine and industrial applications" having established 'Volvo India Pvt Ltd.' in India in 1996. Volvo Car Corporation produces and distributes a premium range of cars and launched models in India in September 2007 through its subsidiary 'Volvo Auto India Pvt Ltd.'. The name/mark 'VOLVO' forms a "conspicuous and prominent part of the corporate names of various companies forming a part of the 'VOLVO' Group".
Court’s Reasoning
The High Court noted that “The defendant no. 1 has admitted manufacturing and selling such buses carrying the infringing logos on more than 100-125 occasions. 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 the will vanish over time.”
The Bench stated, “In view of the above, it is clear that the defendants’ aforesaid acts are violating the statutory and common law rights of the plaintiffs’ in the suit trademarks. The defendants have deliberately and dishonestly copied and created fake/replica/lookalike/counterfeit products of the plaintiffs’ wellknown products bearing the suit trademarks. 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.”
Consequently, the Court ordered that “Under these circumstances, the plaintiffs have made out a prima facie case in their favour for grant of an ex-parte ad interim injunction…Hence, the balance of convenience squarely rests in favour of restraining the defendants through orders of interim injunction.”
Cause Title: Aktiebolaget Volvo & Ors. v. Shri Ganesh Motor Body Repairs & Ors. (CS(COMM) 601/2025)
Appearance:
Plaintiffs: Advocates Vaishali R. Mittal, Siddhant Chamola and Saijal Arora