Facts of the Case

This is a trademark and copyright infringement dispute, unconnected to GST; the respondent's GST number is mentioned only once, in the plaint, as one of several identifying business details. M/s M.M.I. Tobacco Pvt. Ltd., through its Director Mohd. Nazish, along with Mohd. Nazish personally, filed Original Suit No. 20 of 2022 against Iftikhar Alam under Sections 29, 134, 135 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1956, alleging that the appellant was producing and selling tooth powder under the name Musa Ka Gul, infringing the plaintiffs' registered trademark (Registration No. 616611) and copyright, which the plaintiffs claimed had been in continuous use since 1974 and duly assigned to them through a chain of assignment deeds. The District Judge, Varanasi, by order dated 10.10.2022, allowed the plaintiffs' application for a temporary injunction restraining the appellant from producing, selling, or dealing in the disputed product/mark, pending the suit. The appellant challenged this injunction before the Allahabad High Court.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the trial court was justified in granting a temporary injunction restraining the appellant from producing, selling, or dealing in the Musa Ka Gul product/mark.
  2. Whether the plaintiffs had established a prima facie case of trademark and copyright ownership through the chain of assignment relied upon.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The appellant's specific grounds of challenge to the temporary injunction are set out in the fuller portions of the judgment beyond the facts extracted for this summary; broadly, the appeal contests the correctness of granting interim injunctive relief at the temporary stage.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The respondents relied on their claimed continuous use of the Musa Ka Gul mark since 1974, registered trademark and copyright certificates, and a chain of assignment deeds transferring rights through predecessor entities, along with their GST registration and other business identifiers as evidence of their bona fide, ongoing commercial operation.

Court Order / Findings

  • The extracted portion of the judgment sets out the factual and procedural background in detail; the operative findings on whether the temporary injunction was rightly granted are contained in the later, unexcerpted paragraphs of this lengthy judgment and should be verified from the full text via the download link below.

Important Clarification

The petitioner's GST number appears only once in the pleadings as an incidental identifying detail for the respondent company — this case does not raise, and does not decide, any GST question. It is a trademark/copyright injunction appeal governed by the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Copyright Act, 1956.

Sections Involved

  • Trade Marks Act, 1999 — Sections 29, 134, 135 (infringement and jurisdiction for trademark suits).
  • Copyright Act, 1957 — Section 62 (jurisdiction for copyright infringement suits).

Decision – In Favour of

This is an appeal against an interim injunction; readers should consult the full judgment for the precise operative outcome, as the material available for this summary covers the factual background rather than the concluding findings.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
Case No.: First Appeal From Order No. 77 of 2023
Neutral Citation: 2023:AHC:157460
Coram: Hon'ble Kshitij Shailendra, J.
Date of Judgment: Reserved 10.07.2023; Delivered 07.08.2023

Link to Download the Order

Click here to view/download the full order

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