Chipping The Jurisdiction Issue

Simple pleasures sometimes invite a steaming brawl. The perfect example of such a scenario is the application for Special Leave to Appeal [K. Narayanan and Anr. v. S Murali, Civil Appeal Nos. 4480-4481 of 2002] that came forth the Supreme Court, involving manufacturers and sellers of Banana Chips. The appeal lies from the decision of the High Court of Madras.

Narayanan had applied for a trademark registration in1999 in respect of A-ONE, and the same remains pending. In 2000, a suit at the Court of the District Judge of Coimbatore was filed against Narayanan, seeking an injunction to restrain Narayanan from passing off their goods using the trade mark A-ONE. The said suit was dismissed and Narayanan moved to the High Court of Madras. It was only in 2000, that Murali applied for a trademark in A-ONE, claiming to be a user all over India. While the High Court granted leave to sue earlier, the learned