Summary
The Delhi High Court delivered its judgment in favour of Toyota in the Prius trademark dispute after seven years of litigation. The case involved defendants using the PRIUS mark for selling auto parts under Prius Auto Industries and Prius Auto Accessories Private Ltd, despite Toyota's prior use of the mark for its hybrid car since 1995. The court found the defendants' conduct dishonest, noting their use of the mark adversely affected Toyota’s business and reputation. Justice Manmohan Singh ruled that Toyota’s first use in 1995 was sufficient, even though the car launched in India later and the defendants had registered the trademark locally. The defendants were ordered to cease use of the PRIUS name and pay INR 10 lakhs in damages.
Toyota, one of the leading giants in the automobile industry, sensed a huge relief when the Delhi High Court on 8th of July, 2016 delivered its judgment in its favour. This trademark dispute was pending in the court for seven long years, before the court found the defendants conduct to be dishonest.
The Delhi High Court in the case of Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha vs Deepak Mangal & Ors., CS (OS) 2490 of 2009, also known as the Prius Trademark case, found the defendants conduct to be dishonest, who was carrying on the business of selling indigenously manufactured spare parts in the name of Prius Auto Industries and Prius Auto Accessories Private Ltd. They were also using the trademark PRIUS as part of their business name. The trademark PRIUS was first used by Toyota for their hybrid car, Toyota Prius, way back in 1995, a first of its kind and was later launched in the Indian market in 2010. The word ‘Prius’ is a Latin word meaning “first” or “original” .Toyota vehemently objected to the use of their trademark by the defendants. The defendants had registered their trademark in India. It is pertinent to note that Toyota had not registered the word ‘PRIUS’ in India, when the matter was brought before the court of law.
However, Hon’ble Justice Manmohan Singh rejected the contention of the defendants that the plaintiff’s car was launched in India much after the business of the defendants and held that Toyota’s first use in 1995 was sufficient for deciding the case in their favour . The court also said that the defendants use of the mark was adversely affecting the business and reputation of the plaintiff.
The Court in its final order asked the defendants to drop the name PRIUS as a part of their trademark name within a period of two months from the date of the judgment. The court also acknowledged Toyota’s claim to be monetarily compensated and consequently asked the defendants to pay a sum of INR 10 lakhs as damages. This amount was decided on basis of the statement of accounts filed by the Defendants for their business under the PRIUS mark which showed sales up to INR 20 crores.
Sources :1
Authored by Nikhil Kumar