A settlement agreement recorded before the Delhi High Court saw an undertaking from the defendants to deposit a sum of approx $13,000 to be used for charity towards underprivileged children. In addition, the defendants have undertaken to contribute their physical service for five hours per week for a period of six months to a charitable institution as part of the settlement agreement.

This unusual undertaking was accepted in a court case (CS (OS) 2218/2006) filed by Cadbury Limited against the defendants, Mahalaxmi Food Products for infringing its trade mark rights in the brands Crunch, Double Milk and Milk Eclairs Crunch. The modus operandi of the personal physical service is that the defendants will offer the service to a charitable trust, known as Sindhu Samajik Sahayata Trust. This trust will issue a certificate for the number of hours of physical service rendered by the defendants, which will be handed over to the plaintiff through counsel on a month-by-month basis. In view of the undertakings given by the defendants, the plaintiff has agreed to give up its claims for rendition of accounts and damages.

This judgment is an example of acceptance of community service as an alternate to punishment for the violation of IP rights. This not only shows the judiciary's acceptance of well-recognized alternative punishment methods to developed jurisprudence but also reinforces values upheld by courts as well as brand owners that more good can be done for society than claiming monetary damages/punishments. These may bring convictions over IP rights to a high level of visibility to the public and deter people from becoming habitual infringers.

Simmy Flame Rease

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