In the case of Disposafe Health And Life Care Limited vs Registrar Of Trade Marks, the Delhi High Court dealt with an appeal under Section 91 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. The appeal challenged the order dated 29th November 2023, in which the Registrar of Trademarks had refused the trademark application no. 3933703 for the mark “DISPOWAY.”
The appellant, Disposafe Health And Life Care Limited, argued that it had not received the hearing notice purportedly sent by the Registrar of Trademarks via email on 25th September 2023. As a result, the appellant was unable to attend the hearing, leading to an adverse order.
Though the respondent contended that the hearing notice had been successfully delivered, they failed to provide conclusive evidence of this. Moreover, the respondent admitted that they were unable to confirm the delivery status from the National Information Centre (NIC).
After reviewing the records, the court found no proof that the hearing notice was actually received by the appellant. The court observed that the Registrar’s Correspondence Dashboard did not reflect any mention of the application in question, supporting the appellant’s claim of non-receipt of the notice. Consequently, the court set aside the order dated 29th November 2023 and restored the trademark application to its original status.
The Court remanded the matter to the Registrar of Trademarks, directing the Registrar to issue a fresh hearing notice to the appellant within two weeks and to rectify the online status of the trademark application. The Registrar was further instructed to provide a hearing to the appellant before issuing a final order. The appeal was disposed of accordingly, with instructions for the Registry to ensure compliance by forwarding a copy of the order to the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks of India.
Citation: Disposafe Health And Life Care Limited v. Registrar Of Trade Marks, C.A.(COMM.IPD-TM) 15/2024 & I.A. No.5193 (Delhi High Court Aug. 16, 2024). Available at: http://indiankanoon.org/doc/21658426/, visited on 25th August, 2024.
Authored by BananaIP Reporter
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