SC upholds injunction against unauthorized use of Chint Power trademark

By AJA Abeynayake

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has upheld the interim injunction issued by the Commercial High Court of Colombo, which restrains four defendants, including Chint Power Solutions (Pvt) Ltd., from using the “Chint Power” trade name in any manner that could be misleading or closely resemble the trademark of CHINT Group Corp.

The Commercial High Court’s initial order, issued on March 2, 2022, came as a response to a legal action filed by CHINT Group Corp., the registered owner of the ‘Chint’ and ‘Chint Power’ trademarks in many countries worldwide. The company has been selling its products through Chint Power Solutions (Pvt) Ltd. in Sri Lanka for several years, even though these marks were not officially registered in Sri Lanka. The Chint Power Solutions (Pvt) Ltd. was accused of selling products that closely resembled those of CHINT Group Corp., prompting the legal action.

The application filed against the defendants encompassed three key claims: the declaration of the defendants’ trademark as null and void, allegations of violating the plaintiff’s trade name, and unfair competition practices by the defendants.

The appeal petition was filed by the third and fourth respondents, R.K.R Electronics (Pvt) Ltd. and Sriskantharaja Rajivkumar, who were the current assignees of the registered trademarks. They sought leave to appeal and the annulment of the Commercial High Court’s order.

Representing CHINT Group Corp., Attorney at Law Manoj Bandara, argued that the sale of products resembling those of CHINT was misleading and that the “Chint” and “Chint Power” brands had garnered substantial goodwill and reputation in numerous countries. These brands had become well-known trademarks for switches and sockets in Sri Lanka, where consumers readily identified them with CHINT Group Corp. This led to the claim that the defendants’ conduct constituted acts contrary to honest practices, as outlined in s.160(1) of the IP Act.

After careful consideration of the arguments presented by both parties, the Supreme Court’s three-judge bench unanimously ruled to dismiss the appeal petition, without granting leave, against the interim order issued by the Commercial High Court of Colombo.

Representing the defendant-petitioners, Kuvera De Soyza, President’s Counsel, appeared on behalf of the defendants. Senior Counsel Manoj Bandara and Thivanka Hettiarachchi, Attorneys-at-Law, as instructed by Sudath Perera Associates, represented CHINT Group Corp.