The Supreme Court yesterday reserved its verdict on the appeal of Whirlpool Corporation against the Delhi high court judgment in its trade mark dispute with Chinar Trust over the name `Whirlpool'.
Though the US corporation claims that it had registered the trade mark in the seventies, it has not used it and it is stated that the trade mark had lapsed in 1977. Chinar Trust was using the trade mark after the lapse of the earlier registration. The US company then moved in and sought renewal of the trade mark. This started a slew of litigation in the high court. Some of them are still pending.
In the present appeal, the question is the power of the registrar of trade marks to issue suo motu notice regarding rectification of register. The high court has held that the registrar has the power to issue such notice as had been done at the instance of Chinar Trust. Whirlpool saysonly the high court could do so under Section 56(4) of the Trade and Merchandise Act, and not the registrar.