Delhi High Court – No Similarity Between HINDWARE AND HIMWARE

Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd (Appellant) v Champion Ceramic, was an appeal against an order passed by Additional District Judge in Suit No. 107/2003 whereby the judge had dismissed the application filed by the appellant under Order 39 Rule 1 & 2 of Civil procedure Code (CPC) read with Section 151 CPC. The learned Additional District Judge while dismissing the application of the appellant observed that while the contentions of the appellant that there was some phonetic similarity between "HINDWARE" and "HIMWARE" was correct, however, when the two marks are compared in entirety, then the similarities vanished.

Before the Delhi High Court, Hindustan Sanitaryware contended that the learned Additional District Judge had erred in not appreciating the relative scope, ambit and difference between an infringement action based on registered trademark and passing off action .It was also submitted by Hindustan Sanitaryware that the essential feature of their