A reference to past association with a known company might land one in trouble, if there is an attempt at promoting products supplied or services rendered without due permission from earlier employers or collaborators.
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local court has recently stayed a proprietor of an
engineering firm from mentioning in his company profile that it was associated with another city-based engineering company.
The city-based engineering company had dragged the engineering firm to court which has restrained it from using the company's registered
trademark in their firm's profile which the proprietor had posted on a marketing website.
The engineering company, manufacturing machines for the textile industry, has got its trademark registered. In July, the company found out that an engineering firm had claimed in its profile on the internet that it was a regular supplier of products to the company's sister concern.
The company took exception to the claim stating it had no past relationship with the firm. It also alleged the firm of committing an act of passing off by misrepresenting and causing confusion and deception amongst the purchaser. The company alleged an infringement on its trademark rights.
The company's counsel Jatin Trivedi said that section 6(d) of the Trademark Act prohibits use of a company's registered trademark on business papers or in advertising by another firm. “Here the defendant is not selling his products under the name of the client company but there is an attempt to show that the quality of goods is on par with that of the engineering company by asserting his past association with it. One cannot advertise his products and services by projecting them to be of better quality merely by referring to other companies without authorization,” advocate Trivedi said.
The company's counsel Jatin Trivedi said that in the larger context too past work experience is allowed only in the biodata. “One can mention one's past work experience and associations in the personal biodata, but not for the purpose of promoting a new venture without permission. The law bars this practice.” Here, while the engineering firm's proprietor mentioned in his venture’s profile that there was past association with the engineering company, the company asserted that it's records did not reflect any dealing with either the firm or it's proprietor. After preliminary hearing, additional session judge at Mirzapur, S P Shankar, ordered a stay on use of the company's trademark in the firm's advertisement material on the website till further hearing.
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