When applied to trademarks, the doctrine dissuades applicants from misusing the opportunity bestowed upon them to amend their claims of infringement by relying on the submissions made to the Registry while making the trademark application or during the examination. In this context, it is relevant to understand the estoppel concept, defined under Section 115 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. This section states as follows: –

“When one person has, by his declaration, act or omission, intentionally caused or permitted another person to believe a thing to be true and to act upon such belief, neither he nor his representative shall be allowed, in any suit or proceeding between himself and such person or his representative, to deny the truth of that thing.”

Although judges make infrequent use of the doctrine in disposing of trademark infringement cases, its significance in this domain cannot be understated. For instance, this doctrine was applied by the Delhi High Court in Mankind Pharma Ltd. v. Chandra Mani Tiwari & Anr.[1] Back when the plaintiff had applied for the registration of the mark ‘ATORVAKIND’, the examiner found that it was similar to the marks ‘ATORKIND’ and ‘ATORKIND-F’. In its reply to the examination report, the plaintiff contended that its mark was different from the cited trademarks. The defence proved that the plaintiff’s reply took the publici juris defence for the term ‘KIND’. Subsequently, the court held that the defendant’s use of the mark ‘MERCYKIND’ did not constitute trademark infringement, and accordingly, the plaintiff’s plea for injunction was dismissed.

Here are some instances wherein the doctrine of prosecution history estoppel can be applied, and prosecution history (I.e., history of the proceedings right from application filing to trademark registration) can be relied upon in trademark infringement cases: –

Trademark includes a generic or descriptive term

If an application is made for the registration of a trademark with a generic or descriptive term, subsequently, the claimant cannot assert in the infringement proceedings that the mark used by the defendant is generic or descriptive. This principle also extends to determining the scope of goods and services. If the claimant in the prosecution stage claims the difference in goods or services compared to another mark, then the claimant can be said to have misclassified the goods at the prosecution stage. However, if the claimant has stated that there exists a difference in goods or services amongst rival companies, then infringement suits will backfire against the claimant.

Failure to make disclosures

Claimants must disclose statements given in the prosecution case that are potentially contradictory to the infringement claims posed in the infringement proceedings. And failure to make said disclosure could lead to the claimant’s incrimination. In some cases, the failure of the defendant to challenge the claimant’s trademarks can lead to prosecution history omission, just as in the Dish TV[2] case.

One can conclude that the doctrine of prosecution history estoppel calls for cautious handling of arguments and submissions at every stage of the prosecution of trademark applications. The arguments should be made considering their implications in the future as it unlocks an ambit for approbation and reprobation, which in most cases is used against the proprietor of the IP.