Case Note & Summary
These two commercial appeals were filed by the original defendants in intellectual property suits pending before the Bombay High Court. The suits, instituted by Vallourec, a company existing under the laws of France, alleged infringement of its registered trademark ‘VALLOUREC’ used on steel pipes and tubes, and passing off. The plaintiff claimed that the defendants had supplied counterfeit pipes with forged mill test certificates, causing confusion and potential safety hazards. The suits sought permanent injunctions, delivery up of infringing materials, and appointment of receivers. Pending the suits, Notices of Motion were filed for interim reliefs, and the Single Judge passed orders on these motions. Aggrieved by these interlocutory orders, the defendants (including Trident Steel and Engineering Co. and Reliant Pipes and Tubes Pvt. Ltd.) preferred appeals before the Commercial Appellate Division of the High Court under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. When the appeals came up for hearing on 16/17 October 2018, the learned senior counsel for the respondents (original plaintiffs) raised a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the appeals. They contended that the orders impugned were not appealable under Section 13(1A) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, as amended by the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018. This amendment, which came into force on 21 August 2018 but was given retrospective effect from 3 May 2018, narrowed the scope of appealable orders. The respondents argued that the interim orders in question did not fall within the categories listed in the amended provision, and therefore the appeals should be dismissed at the threshold. The court, consisting of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and B.P. Colabawalla, noted the amendment and decided to confine the hearing to this preliminary issue. The factual matrix of the suits was briefly outlined to contextualize the dispute. In Appeal No. 434 of 2018, the appellant Trident Steel was defendant no. 1, allegedly responsible for supplying counterfeit pipes with a forged mill test certificate to an overseas buyer. In Appeal No. 428 of 2018, the appellant Reliant Pipes was defendant no. 2, with allegations linking the supply of counterfeit pipes to a thermal power plant which had suffered an explosion. The court recorded the serious nature of the allegations but did not proceed to merits. The judgment excerpt ends at paragraph 12, with the court’s analysis on maintainability still in progress. Consequently, the final outcome of the preliminary objection and the fate of the appeals remain unknown from the provided text. This summary captures the procedural standstill as of the truncated record.
Headnote
A) Commercial Courts - Appealability of Interim Orders - Section 13(1A) of Commercial Courts Act, 2015 as amended by Act 28 of 2018 - The Court considered the preliminary objection raised by the respondents that the appeals against orders passed by the Single Judge on Notices of Motion for interim reliefs in commercial IP suits were not maintainable because the impugned orders did not fall within the categories of appealable orders specified under Section 13(1A) of the Act. The hearing was confined to this maintainability issue, and the Court examined the amendment and its effective date (21 August 2018 with retrospective operation from 3 May 2018). The Court noted the factual background of the suits involving allegations of trademark infringement and counterfeiting, but the ultimate decision on appealability was reserved. (Paras 2-12)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the appeals against the interim orders passed by the Single Judge in commercial suits are maintainable under Section 13(1A) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 as amended by the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Final Decision
Not mentioned (judgment is truncated; the court had reserved its decision on the preliminary objection and was in the process of analysis when the text ended).
Law Points
- Interpretation of Section 13(1A) of Commercial Courts Act
- 2015
- Appealability of interlocutory orders in commercial matters
- Effect of 2018 amendment on pending appeals
- Preliminary objection to maintainability of appeal
- Scope of appellate jurisdiction of Commercial Appellate Division
