Setting Out Two Separate Prayers For Injunction, One For Infringement And Other For Passing Off A Singularly Unwise Practice: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Monday called for a halt on the practice of seeking the separate reliefs of injunction for passing off and infringement when pleadings were presented in respect of infringement. Describing the practice as singularly unwise, Justice GS Patel remarked, “I would venture to suggest as a matter of law that the operative injunction order should only be as an injunction without a restriction specifying infringement or passing off”. The Court’s order, stated to be issued to address a question of both form and substance that seems to me to generally arise in applications and suits of this nature, examines whether it made sense to seek injunction as a separate relief when infringement and passing off of trademarks were being argued. Pointing out that both the claims of infringement and passing off sought only an injunction, the Court opined that such an approach would be incorrect, even venturing to state that it could be counter-productive.