LI Network
Published on: 8 September 2023 at 11:30 IST
The Delhi High Court has ruled that a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) can be filed before a division bench challenging a judgment rendered by a single judge in an appeal against the Registrar of Trademarks’ orders.
The Court clarified that since the Registrar of Trademarks is not a civil court, the bar under Section 100A of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) does not apply to appeals against the Registrar’s decisions.
A division bench comprising Justices Yashwant Varma and Dharmesh Sharma made this determination in the case of Promoshirt SM SA V. Armasuisse and Another.
The Court held that the Registrar of Trademarks does not meet the criteria of a “court,” citing previous decisions in Anglo-French Drug Co. and Khoday Distilleries. Furthermore, Section 91 of the 1999 Trademarks Act does not prescribe that the appellate remedy should be governed by CPC provisions. Thus, LPAs against orders passed by a single judge while exercising Section 91 powers are not barred.
The Court pointed out that Section 100A of the CPC restricts further appeals from single judges only when they are hearing appeals from original or appellate decrees or orders. Since the Trademarks Act’s appellate provision does not mandate that appeals should follow CPC provisions and lacks provisions regulating or restricting the right to appeal, the LPA remedy remains unaffected by Section 100A of the CPC.
However, the Court noted that the LPA remedy would not be available if a special statute mandates that the appeal process follows CPC rules. In such cases, all restrictions applicable to appeals, including Section 100A, would come into play.
The ruling came in response to two LPAs filed by Promoshirt SM Private Limited, challenging a single judge’s decision that set aside orders of the Registrar of Trademarks.
These orders had granted registration of the mark “Swiss Military” to Promoshirt but were challenged by Armasuisse (Swiss federal agency of defence procurement).
The Court rejected Armasuisse’s preliminary objection to the maintainability of the LPAs based on Section 100A of the CPC. The LPAs were scheduled for further hearing on September 19, 2023.
