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TMI Blog2005 (11) TMI 508X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oint Venture partner, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. is an internationally renowned name and trademark HONDA. The Joint Venture, thus, adopted the trademark HERO HONDA to reflect the goodwill of the business of both the two Joint Venture Groups as an arbitrarily coined trademark. 3. The plaintiff has set out the sales figures in para 5 of the plaint as under:- Year Sales (Rs. in Crores) 01.04.1990 - 31.01.1991 215.52 01.04.1991 - 31.01.1992 275.72 01.04.1992 - 31.01.1993 307.27 01.04.1993 - 31.01.1994 369.99 01.04.1994 - 31.01.1995 483.85 01.04.1995 - 31.01.1996 640.7 01.04.1996 - 31.01.1997 782.83 01.04.1997 - 31.01.1998 1160.72 01.04.1998 - 31.01.1999 1552.9 01.04.1999 - 31.01.2000 2269.87 01.04.2000 - 31.01.2001 3192.96 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be the original artistic work of the plaintiff within the meaning of Section 2(c) of The Copyright Act, 1957. The packaging of spare parts was created by M/s. Mansa Packagers Pvt. Ltd., which is an artistic work owned by the plaintiff. 7. The plaintiff came to know that there were several unscrupulous traders manufacturing motorcycle parts and other items bearing the plaintiff trademark HERO HONDA and the logo with the result that there was not only loss of profit, but the brand equity of the plaintiff was affected on account of inferior quality of the product sold in the market by such traders. The public was also stated to be, thus, a direct sufferer of the same. The defendant is stated to be one such trader. The plaintiff purchased the product of the defendant and found that apart from infringing the logo and the mark of the plaintiff, the product was of poor quality in finish and packaging. Thus, the defendant was counterfeiting the product of the plaintiff and selling the goods as that of the plaintiff. There was also violation of the registered trademark of the plaintiff. 8. At the stage of filing of the suit, interim orders were granted and Local Commissioner was also ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of reputation and business as also the cost of the present proceedings. 13. Insofar as the issue of damages is concerned, learned counsel for the plaintiff submits that even in the absence of specific evidence to the same effect, such damages can be granted. 14. It is trite to say that the defendant has deliberately stayed away from the present proceedings with the result that an enquiry into the accounts of the defendant for determination of damages cannot take place. However, the infringement of the trademark of the plaintiff as also its logo is not in dispute. The plaintiff has claimed token damages and compensation of ₹ 5 lakhs as it was not possible to determine the exact nature of damages at the stage of filing of the suit. The attention of this Court has been drawn to a number of judgments in this behalf where dealing with similar situations, damages have been awarded. 15. In Relaxo Rubber Limited and Anr. v. Selection Footwear and Anr., 1999 PTC 578, the defendant did not file the written statement after taking time for the same and a decree was passed under Order VIII Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Against the claim of tentative damages of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... marks, copy rights, patents, etc. should not only grant compensatory damages but award punitive damages also with a view to discourage and dishearten law breakers who indulge in violations with impunity out of lust for money so that they realize that in case they are caught, they would be liable not only to reimburse the aggrieved party but would be liable to pay punitive damages also, which may spell financial disaster for them. In Mathias v. Accor Economi Lodging, Inc., 347 F. 672 (7th Cir. 2003) the factors underlying the grant of punitive damages were discussed and it was observed that one function of punitive damages is to relieve the pressure on an overloaded system of criminal justice by providing a civil alternative to criminal prosecution of minor crimes. It was further observed that the award of punitive damages serves the additional purpose of limiting the defendant's ability to profit from its fraud by escaping detection and prosecution. If a tortfeasor is caught only half the time he commits torts, then when he is caught he should be punished twice as heavily in order to make up for the reason that it is very difficult for a plaintiff to give proof of actual damage ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ilosophy of corrective justice. That was the case where the publishers of Time Magazine had come to Court and one of the factors which weighed while awarding punitive damages was that the readers had been sufferers of the infringement of the mark of the plaintiff. The only difference is that in the present case it is the consumer of the products of the plaintiff, who have suffered as a consequence of the infringement of the mark and logo of the plaintiff by the defendant.19. The second aspect emphasized in Times Incorporated's case (supra) has also material bearing as the object is to relieve the pressure on over-loaded system of criminal justice by providing civil alternative to criminal prosecution of minor crimes. The defendant could have been prosecuted for such counterfeiting, but the plaintiff has considered appropriate to confine the relief to civil proceedings. 20. Learned counsel for the plaintiff also rightly points out that instead of the plaintiff utilising its energy for expansion of its business and sale of its products, the resources have to be spread over a number of such litigations to bring to book the offending traders in the market. In such a case, both c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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