Rajasthan High Court: In an appeal challenging and seeking a stay on the impugned order dated 08-10-2024, passed by the Commercial Court, Jodhpur, which granted an ad-interim injunction against the release of the movie titled “Jigra” on the grounds of alleged trademark violation, a division bench of Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Munnuri Laxman, JJ., granted an-interim stay and allowed the release of the movie while reserving the respondent’s right to seek damages if any trademark violation is later proven.
In the instant matter, the Dharma Production released a motion poster of their movie “Jigra” on 08-09-2023. The movie is set to release on 11-10-2024, and necessary certifications from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) were obtained in Hindi and Telugu on 03-10-2024 and 09-10-2024, respectively. The respondent claimed that the use of the title “Jigra” infringes their registered trademark, leading to the Commercial Court’s interim injunction, halting the movie’s release.
The appellant contended that they are not engaged in any trade of goods or services under the name “Jigra” and thus no violation under the Trademarks Act should be claimed. It was stated that Dharma Production is using “Jigra” merely as a movie title, not as a trademark for goods or services.
However, the respondent contended that their trademark registration covers education and entertainment, and allowing the movie release would harm their commercial rights. The respondents sought protection of their trademark and claimed that the release of film would impact their business.
The Court examined the prima facie case, irreparable loss, and balance of convenience and held that the appellant, Dharma Production, is not infringing the respondent’s trademark as the use of “Jigra” is for a movie title, not in trade of goods or services. The Court noted that if any violation of trademark rights is established, the respondent could seek damages as a remedy, but stopping the release of the movie would cause significant financial loss to the appellant.
The Court stayed the operation of the impugned order dated 08-10-2024, thereby allowed the release of the movie on 11.10.2024. The Court listed the matter for further hearing on 16-10-2024.
[Dharma Production (P) Ltd. v. Bhallaram Choudhary, 2024 SCC OnLine Raj 2953, Decided on 10-10-2024]
Appellants (Dharma Production):
Senior Advocate, Mr. Vikas Balia;
Advocate Ms. Abhilasha Bora
DSK Legal represented Dharma Productions.
Respondents:
Senior Advocate, Mr. R.N. Mathur
Advocate, Mr. Falgun Buch
