STEELCASE INC. vs MR. K.J. BHUTA 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: April 25, 2025 % Pronounced on: May 28, 2025 + CS(COMM) 1180/2018 STEELCASE INC. .....Plaintiff Through: Mr. Anirudh Bakhru, Ms. Ekta Sarin, Ms. Mugdha Palsule and Mr. Mohd. Umar, Advocates Versus MR. K.J. BHUTA AND ANR. .....Defendants Through: Mr. Alankar Kirdikar, Mr. Jaspreet S. Kapur, Mr. Wasim Ansari and Ms. Shweta, Advocates for D-1 Mr. Naman Tandon and Mr. Kuber Mahajan, Advocates for D-2 CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SAURABH BANERJEE JUDGMENT I.A. 11463/2019 (Under Section 124 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 for stay of proceedings by defendant no.1) 1. Vide this application under Section 124 of the Trade Marks Act, 19991, the defendant no.1 seeks stay of the proceedings in the captioned suit instituted by the plaintiff for permanent injunction and relief qua infringement of copyright against the defendants for wrongful/ illegal use of the plaintiff’s trademark “STEELCASE” registered under multiple Classes of the TM Act, as a part of the defendant no.1’s trade name “M/s. STEEL CASE INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED”. 1 TM Act I.A. 11463 in CS(COMM) 1180/2018 Page 1 of 11 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:BABLOO SHAH Signing Date:28.05.2025 18:49:45 2. As per the amended plaint, the plaintiff was earlier operating under the trade name “STEEL CASE” in the United States of America (USA) since 1920, and now under the trade name “STEELCASE INC”. The plaintiff is in India since the year 2000. It is engaged in the business of selling, inter alia, office furniture and architectural products for offices and healthcare industries. It is also the registered proprietor of the trademark “STEELCASE” in Class(s) 9, 11, 16 and 20 of the TM Act, since the year 1995. 3. The defendant no.1 is operating under the t