SELLE ROYAL GROUP S.P.A. vs ACE FOOTMARK (P) LTD AND ANR

Judgment text excerpt

* I N T H E H I G H CO U R T O F D E L H I A T N E W D E L H I Reserved on: May 09, 2025 % Pronounced on: May 28, 2025 + C.O.(COMM.IPD-TM) 196/2022 SELLE ROYAL GROUP S.P.A. .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Dhruv Anand, Ms. Udita Patro, Ms. Vaishali Sharma and Ms. Nimrat Singh, Advocates. Versus ACE FOOTMARK (P) LTD. AND ANR. .....Respondents Through: None. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SAURABH BANERJEE JUDGMENT Preface: 1. By virtue of the present petition, originally filed as an application before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) and transferred therefrom after its abolition and promulgation of Tribunal Reforms (Rationalization and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, the petitioner seeks cancellation of registration of the mark FIZIKFREAK1 of the respondent no.1 and removal thereof from the Register of Trade Marks on the ground that the same is identical and/ or confusingly similar to the trademark fi’zi:k belonging to the petitioner. 1 Hereinafter ‘impugned mark’ C.O.(COMM.IPD-TM) 196/2022 Page 1 of 10 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:BABLOO SHAH Signing Date:28.05.2025 18:49:45 Brief facts: 2. As per pleadings, the petitioner is a global company founded in Italy in 1956 and is engaged in manufacture and sale of bicycle accessories, saddles, handlebars, jackets, etc. which it is exporting to over 70 countries worldwide. 3. For a certain class of high-performance saddles launched in the United States of America and then handmade in Italy, the petitioner adopted and has been continuously using the trademark fi’zi:k since the year 1995. The said trademark fi’zi:k was also subsequently adopted with respect to a new line of shoes for professional cyclists, as also other footwear, since the year 1997. The said products are in circulation in India thro