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2019 (12) TMI 290 - HC - Companies LawUse of brand name by the two companies managed by the separate group of family members - partition by the CLB after family dispute - Prayer for an order of injunction to restrain the defendant from producing or selling or marketing any product using the said label and carton - short contention of the plaintiff/petitioner is that it is the owner of the copyright in the artistic work on the said label and carton. It has not permitted the defendant to use the said label and carton for carrying on the defendant’s business of manufacture and sale of hair oil - whether or not the defendant is entitled to use the name ‘BANPHOOL’ on its label and carton that it uses to market the hair oil manufactured by it? HELD THAT:- It is not in dispute that the Sharma brothers carried on the business of manufacture and sale of Ayurvedic hair oil under the name ‘BANPHOOL’ in co-partnership through a duly constituted partnership firm called M/s Sharma Chemical Works. The copyrights in the artistic work on the label and carton in question were registered in the name of the partnership firm. Biswanath was shown as the author of the artistic work ‘BANPHOOL’ in the registration certificate. The plaintiff company was incorporated by the members of the Sharma family with the object of carrying on the same business through a private limited company. The business, assets, liabilities of the partnership firm vested in the plaintiff company. The members of the Sharma family including Biswanath were the subscribers to the Memorandum of Association of the plaintiff. In other words, they were the promoters of the plaintiff company. The CLB divided the business and assets of the plaintiff company in the manner indicated above. The Saraswati Group was given the Kolkata unit of the plaintiff company. The Biswanath Group was given the Delhi and Baddi units. Biswanath Group was directed to float a separate company adding prefix or suffix to the corporate name used by the plaintiff company and was given the liberty to carry on the same business that they had been carrying on through the plaintiff company. It is important to note that neither of the groups challenged the aforesaid CLB order before a higher forum. It is clear that the rights and obligations of the two groups vis-a-vis each other in relation to the family business of manufacture and sale of ‘Banphool hair oil’ crystallized in the CLB order. The Saraswati Group was given exclusive control of the plaintiff company and the right to carry on the family business at the Kolkata unit through the instrumentality of the plaintiff company. The Biswanath Group was granted liberty to carry on the same family business through a newly floated private limited company at the Delhi and Baddi units. There was thus, an equitable division of the business and assets of the plaintiff company between the two groups - Application dismissed.
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