Delhi High Court: A Single Judge Bench comprising of Jayant Nath, J. decreed a suit for permanent injunction by invoking the provisions of Order 8 Rule 10 CPC.
The plaintiff was involved in broadcasting activities such as news reporting, producing TV shows and other media content in various parts of the world. It was submitted that its first presence in India could be traced back to 1994 and through various media including a YouTube channel, under the name CBS, it had acquired distinctiveness in the Indian market. In March 2017, the plaintiff came in across defendant’s YouTube channel CBN NEWS which was identical to plaintiff’s trademark. A cease and desist notice was served on the defendant but to no avail. Hence, the present suit was filed.
Before the High Court, the parties requested that they would like to settle the matter through mediation but no settlement could be arrived at. It was pertinently noted that the defendant failed to file a written statement. The plaintiff filed an application under Order 8 Rule 10 CPC. The Court referred to its earlier decision which discussed the scope of Order 8 Rule 10 CPC in commercial suits particularly under the new Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of the High Court Act, 2015. The rule had been inserted to expedite the process of justice. If the defendant fails to pursue his case or does so in a lackadaisical manner by not filing written statement, the Court should invoke provisions of Order 8 Rule 10 CPC and decree such cases. In the view of the Court, the instant was a suitable case to pass a decree in favour of plaintiff and against the defendant. Accordingly, a decree of permanent injunction as prayed for by the plaintiff was passed. [Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. v. CBN News (P) Ltd.,2018 SCC OnLine Del 11666, dated 30-08-2018]