Non-use of trademark is not a valid defense against injunction

In the present case, a Taiwan-based company, M/s Four Pillars Enterprise Co. Ltd, sought an interlocutory injunction restraining the Defendants from using the marks ‘REINDEER BRAND’ Image of the Reindeer Brand's logo and ‘REINDEER WONDER’ Image of the Reindeer Wonder's logo , which are deceptively similar to the Plaintiff’s mark ‘DEER’ Image of the Deer Brand's logo . The Plaintiff manufactures adhesive tapes and labels and became aware of the Defendants’ PVC insulation pipes bearing the mark ‘REINDEER’ through an e-commerce website. Additionally, the Plaintiff discovered the Defendants’ trademark registrations and issued a cease and desist letter, urging the Defendants to withdraw its applications filed before the Trade Marks Registry. However, the Defendants denied any similarity between the marks in response to the letter.

The Plaintiff further alleged that the Defendants also adopted a trade dress identical to the Plaintiff’s mark and quoted ‘MADE BY TAIWAN TECHNOLOGY’ on the packaging with an intent to associate with the Plaintiff.

Image depicting table comparing Plaintiff's Trade Dress and Defendant's trade dress